THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


FRONTISPIECE. 


,R.  5S  ENDLETOFS  I®  UP, 


A  STORY   FOR  BOYS. 


GLANCE    GAYLORD, 

AUTHOR  OF  "CULM  ROCK,"    "GILBERT  STARR,"  3 


BOSTON: 
HENBY  A.  YOUNG  &  CO., 


Ent-  *.d  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1869,  by 

HENRY  A.  YOUNG  &  CO., 
In  ti»w  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Massachusetts, 


CHAPTER  I. 
The  Antiquary,        --------        9 

CHAPTER -H. 
A  Journey  after  a  Cup,      -       -       -       -       -       -       -24 

CHAPTER  HI. 
Two  Friends,    ---------         40 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Finding  a  Treasure,    -       -       -""-       -       -       -       -67 

CHAPTER  V. 
Joe's  Temptation,    --------        74 

CHAPTER  VI. 
A  Fruitless  Quest,      --------91 

CHAPTER  VH. 
Yielding  to  Temptation,         ------       108 

CHAPTER  Vin. 
A  Heavy  Heart,         - 125 


622686 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IX. 
The  Tempter  Vanquished,      -       •       -       -       -       -       143 

CHAPTER  X. 
Joe's  Reward,      •  .......    IQQ 

CHAPTER  XI. 
A  Prisoner,      ---......178 

CHAPTER  Xn. 

The  Prisoner's  Friends,      .......    196 

CHAPTER  XIH. 
New  Possessions,      --...-.-214 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Conclusion,  ----..-..-332 


iENDLETON'S 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE      ANTIQUARY. 

.  PENDLETON  was  an  antiquary. 
He  delighted  in  everything  od<J  and 
ancient.  Yes,  everything  !  —  no 
matter  whether  it  came  from  home 
or  abroad  —  so  long  as  it  savored  of  antiquity 
it  was  dear  unto  his  heart.  Now  the  old  gen- 
tleman was  nearing  sixty,  and  began  to  look 
quite  gray  and  ancient  himself;  indeed,  he 
looked  much  older  than  most  gentlemen  of  his 
age,  and  this  was  the  reason  :  All  his  life-time 


10  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

he  had  shut  himself  up  among  his  books  and 
relics,  and  there  had  lived  like  a  hermit.  No 
one  ever  came  to  see  him,  unless  it  were  a  few 
old  gentlemen  of  like  tastes,  and  then  they 
were  never  merry  or  sociable,  but  sat  all  day 
long  in  the  caoinet  shaking  their  wise  heads 
over  some  newly-discovered  treasures,  and 
muttering  to  each  other  in  whispers.  He  had 
not  a  little  friend  in  the  world  to  make  merry 
with  ;  he  never  smiled  or  chatted,  and  so  the 
wrinkles  in  his  face  drew  themselves  down  into 
long,  sober  lines,  that  gave  his  features  a 
grave,  stern  aspect.  I  dare  say  that  if  you 
had  s%en  him,  you  would  have  thought  him  a 
.  very  cross-looking  old  gentleman. 

Sometimes,  in  the  dim,  dim  years  that  had 
flown,  Mr.  Pendleton  had  had  a  little  boy  of 
his  own,  and  oh,  what  a  precious  little  fellow 
he  was !  Bright  eyes,  sunny  curls,  quick, 
merry  little  ways  that  wound  themselves  won- 
derfully around  the  father's  heart ;  but  one  day 


THE   ANTIQUARY.  11 

Death  carried  away  the  mother  and  little  boy, 
and  left  the  father  all  alone.  Then  it  was  that 
he  shut  himself  up  iii  the  solitude  of  his  great 
house,  and  gre  w  to  be  a  gray-headed,  wrinkled, 
stern  old  man,  —  very,  very  different,  I  fancy, 
than  he  would  have  been  had  that  little  boy 
lived  to  brighten  his  father's  days. 

But  in  looking  at  the  old  gentleman  you 
would  never  suspect  that  any  such  thing  had 
ever  occurred  in  his  life-time.  He  had  very 
keen  black  eyes,  that  looked  sharply  out  from 
under  a  fringe  of  gray  eye-brows ;  and  as  they 
had  become  somewhat  dim  in  deciphering 
old  MSS.,  and  puzzling  over  old  script,  he 
wore  a  pair  of  great  silver-rimmed  spectacles, 
through  which  he  peered  when  he  spoke,  and 
looked  very  wise  and  learned.  He  kept  an 
old  housekeeper,  who  had  grown  gray  in  his 
service,  and  who  was  quite  as  grave  and  silent 
a  personage  as  her  master.  In  fact,  she  had 
become  so  while  in  his  employ,  for  with  no  one 


12  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

to  talk  to,  and  no  one  for  company,  how  could 
she  help  it  ?  I  dare  say  she  would  once  have 
liked  a  cheerful  chat  and  a  smile  as  well  as  any 
one ;  but  moving  so  long  in  the  same  silent, 
monotonous  round  of  duties,  she  had  grown  to 
dislike  a  laugh  and  cheery  talk  most  heartily. 
She  kept  a  great  cat,  who  stalked  about  with 
his  mistress  everywhere  she  went  —  even  to 
the  post-office,  where  she  was  obliged  to  go 
daily  after  the  old  gentleman's  letters  and 
papers.  And  thus  these  two  elderly  people 
lived  in  this  great,  silent  house  ;  a  life  which 
we  —  who  love  cheerfulness,  and  sunshine, 
and  bright  companions  —  would  be  apt  to  think 
was  most  cheerless  and  desolate.  But  they 
did  not  find  it  so. 

Now  all  these  long,  long  years,  Mr.  Pendle- 
ton  had  been  collecting  and  hoarding  his 
treasures.  Very  poor  treasures  some  people 
would  have  thought  them,  but  to  the  antiquary 
they  were  precious  indeed!  They  filled  four 


THE    ANTIQUARY  13 

spacious  rooms,  and  such  strange  and  wonder- 
ful sights  these  rooms  presented  !  If  I  were  to 
write  all  day,  I  don't  suppose  I  could  tell  you 
half  the  queer  things  there  were  in  them. 
Through  the  dim  light  one  might  perceive  tier 
after  tier  of  shelves  which  reached  from  floor 
to  ceiling,  and  all  were  laden  with  things 
strange  and  curious.  In  all  the  angles^  and 
over  the  doors  and  windows,  hung  dark  and 
time-stained  paintings;  clumps  of  dusty  old 
armor;  swords  that  were  rusty  and  had  lost 
^heir  glitter ;  and  spears  and  lances  that  were 
hundreds  of  years  old.  So  long  had  these 
relics  lain  here,  and  so  many  had  he  accumu- 
lated, that  Mr.  Pendleton  himself  could  not  tell  . 
all  these  shelves  contained ;  for  year  after  year 
he  added  to  his  stores,  till  they  fairly  tremble 1 
and  bent  under  their  weight,  and  the  memory 
of  no  man  was  great  enough  to  contain  them. 
And  oh,  the  dust  that  had  settled  over  all  !  for 
the  old  housekeeper  was  not  allowed  to  disturb 


14  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

even  the  smallest  of  these  treasures  ;  and  so  tho 
dark  dust  gathered,  and  the  spiders  wove  webs 
in  the  corners  to  their  hearts'  content,  and 
altogether  these  rooms  were  so  dirty  and  dingy, 
that  no  one  but  a  genuine  antiquary  could  have 
tolerated  them.  But  Mr.  Pendleton  loved 
dust  —  it  savored  of  age  and  antiquity  —  and 
so  his^heart's  serenity  was  disturbed  not  a  whit. 
His  somber  figure  moved  about  in  these  dim 
rooms  quite  in  its  element.  And,  if  you  care 
at  all  about  it,  you  shall  know  what  some  of 
this  antiquaiy's  treasures  were. 

On  these  shelves,  thick  with  dust,  lay  the 
most  beautiful  Indian  agates,  —  spotted  and 
veined  with  crimson  and  azure,  and  shot 
through  with  golden  threads  ;  lumps  of  virgin 
gold  from  far-off  mines ;  beautiful  pink-lipped 
shells,  and  mother-of-pearl ;  curiously  carved 
boxes  of  some  fragrant  Eastern  wood ;  strings 
of  yellowish  pearls  that  had  once  lain  on  a 
princess's  neck,  and  precious  gems  that  gleamed 
from  out  their  dusty  velvet  bed. 


THE   ANTIQUARY.  15 

There  were  a  whole  row  of  dried,  wizen- 
faced  Egyptian  mummies,  and  a  box  of  papyrus 
rolls  too  old  and  withered  to  be  deciphered. 
Ancient  pottery  —  enough  to  stock  a  small 
crockery-store,  and  a  little  fortune  in  old  coins 
and  medals.  Indian  arrows  and  implements 
were  there  in  abundance,  with  gay  head-dresses 
and  mantles  of  woven  feathers.  A  stuffed  owl 
was  perched  on  an  ancient  hemlet,  and  over- 
looked the  whole  with  eyes  that  fairly  rivaled 
Mr.  Pendleton's  for  wise  expression,  and  on 
the  floor  a  long-legged  crane  balanced  himself 
on  a  pedestal.  Then  there  were  old  wigs,  rare 
laces,  jewelled  combs,  ancient  costumes,  velvet 
skull-caps,  a  very  old  harpsichord,  and  in  the 
darkest  corner  stood  the  full  armor  of  a  knight, 
with  arm  out-stretched,  as  if  he  yet  grasped 
the  battle-axe  and  were  going  to  rush  at  you. 
And  as  for  such  things  as  crystal  cups,  richly 
cut  old  decanters,  deeply-wrought  vases  and 
marbles,  the  half  is  not  to  be  told.  From  every 


16  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

clime,  fr>m  every  nation,  from  all  grades  of 
civilization,  had  the  old  gentleman  gathered  his 
valuables,  and  here  they  were  buried  in  th<j 
dust  and  silence.  I  will  only  say  more  that  a 
king's  snuff-box  was  there,  also  the  skull  of  a 
conqueror,  and  the  rouge-box  of  a  famous 
beauty. 

The  only  cheerful,  cosey  spot  in  the  whole 
house  —  aside  from  the  spotless  little  kitchen 
where  the  old  house-keeper  presided  —  was  by 
a  sunny  window  in  the  cabinet,  where  the  old 
gentleman  kept  his  books,  and  received  his 
brother-antiquarians.  Here,  for  a  wonder, 
was  one  clear,  clean -paned  window,  and  as 
there  was  no  curtain,  the  sunbeams  were  at  full 
liberty  to  steal  in  and  brighten  everything  with 
their  ruddy  gold.  And  they  did  their  work  so 
lavishly  that  the  room  was  really  pleasant. 
Here  were  huge,  leather-covered  volumes 
ranged  around  the  wall,  and  the  old  gentleman 
handled  them  quite  often  enough  to  keep  them 


THE    ANTIQUARY.  17 

free  of  dust.  Here,  by  the  window-seat,  was 
his  easy-chair,  and  before  it  stood  a  writing- 
table  heaped  up  with  tumbled  papers,  old 
letters,  and  dingy  manuscripts.  So  full  had  it 
become,  that  there  was  hardly  room  for  pen 
and  ink-bottle.  And  on  the  wall,  back  of  the 
easy-chair,  hung  his  hat  and  cloak,  —  a  cloak 
that  you  would  have  thought  he  must  have 
rummaged  out  of  some  old  garret,  at  least  —  it 
was  so  quaint  and  old-fashioned.  But  so  long 
had  the  old  gentleman  lived  his  hermit-like 
life,  that  whenever  he  had  occasion  to  go 
abroad  —  which  was  very  rarely  —  he  was  en- 
tirely unconscious  of  the  smiles  which  his 
queerly-dressed  figure  provoked.  In  the  dingy 
and  old-fashioned  rooms  where  he  dwelt,  such 
a  dress  was  appropriate  enough,  but  in  the  gay, 
bustling,  fashionably-attired  street-crowd,  ah, 
that  was  entirely  a  different  matter. 

The  old  gentleman  detested  noise,  and  bus- 
tle, and  confusion  most  heartily,  and  fortunate- 


18  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CXJP. 

ly  for  him  his  house  fronted  on  one  of  tne 
quietest  streets  in  Darnleigh.  The  lumbering 
omnibuses  hardly  ever  entered  the  street; 
there  were  but  very  few  children  to  romp  and 
shout,  and  of  a  summer  afternoon  there  were 
generally  no  greater  disturbance  than  the  soft 
cooing  of  the  doves  that  flew  down  from  the 
house-tops  to  seek  for  food  on  the  pavements. 

And  on  this  gray  January  afternoon,  when 
we  shall  first  see  the  old  antiquary,  the  street 
was  very  peaceful  and  quiet.  The  snow  lay  . 
in  a  thin  covering  over  the  cobble-stones—not 
enough  of  it  for  sleighing,  and  the  air  was  too 
chill  and  cold  for  it  to  melt.  The  sun  had 
been  hidden  in  thick  snow-clouds  since  noon, 
and  people  had  all  deserted  the  street. 

Mr.  Pendleton  sat  in  his  easy-chair  before 
the  window,  with  a  great  leather-covered  vol- 
ume open  before  him.  It  was  a  new  acquisi- 
tion, and  I  don't  think  he  had  once  raised  his 
eyes  from  the  yellow,  time-stained  pages,  since 


THE    ANTIQUARY.  19 

he  sat  down  after  snatching  a  few  hasty  mouth- 
fuls  of  dinner.  He  had  not  noticed  the  thick 
gray  clouds  which  threatened  snow,  nor  that 
the  street  was  deserted.  Page  after  page  was 
turned  —  the  afternoon  waned  —  and  had  not 
his  spectacles  slid  down  upon  his  nose,  he 
would  very  likely  have  forgotten  himself  en- 
tirely till  darkness  shut  out  the  words  before 
him. 

But  as  he  re-adjusted  his  spectacles,  some 
sense  of  the  stillness  without  touched  him,  and 
he  looked  up.  Gray,  and  chilly,  and  silent  I 
The  doves  were  picking  about  the  snow,  and 
now  and  then  their  soft  cooing  floated  up  to 
his  ears.  The  old  man  started,  looked  up  at 
the  sky  and  down  at  the  doves,  —  rubbed  his 
forehead  a  little,  and  then,  pushing  up  through 
all  the  dry  and  weighty  knowledge,  with  which 
his  head  was  crammed,  struggled  one  little 
memory.  Thirty-four  long  years  ago,  that 
very  day,  his  little  boy  had  died. 


20  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

Just  such  a  January  day  it  was,  he  re  me  in* 
bered,  that  the  little  soul  flew  away,  —  gray, 
and  raw,  and  chilly.  Something  very  like  a 
sigh  escaped  his  lips,  and  having  fixed  his  spec- 
tacles to  suit  him  he  turned  to  the  great 
volume  again,  but  only  to  find  that  it  had 
grown  suddenly  distasteful. 

"  Ah  me,"  he  muttered,  pushing  the  book 
back  among  his  papers,  —  "  I'm  growing  old. 
I  can't  read  one  afternoon,  I  find,  without 
making  me  nervous.  I'll  look  out  the  window 
a  little  while.  It  looks  quiet  enough  to  soothe 
any  one." 

So  he  turned  him  about  in  his  easy-chair, 
and  with  his  head  resting  on  his  hands  gazed 
out.  The  doves  were  fluttering  about  from 
one  spot  to  another,  finding  but  a  scanty  feast 
among  the  cobble-stones.  Just  such  speckled 
doves  as  these,  he  remembered,  his  little  boy 
used  to  feed,  —  sitting  in  that  very  window- 
seat,  and  throwing  the  white  bread-crumbs 


THE    ANTIQUARY.  21 

iown  on  to  the  stones  below.  Ah,  what  a 
long,  long  time  ago  it  was  !  yet  here  were  the 
same  gray  and  brown  and  white  and  ash-col- 
ored creatures,  hopping  about  as  pertly,  and 
cooing  as  softly  as  his  Willie's  had  done. 

"And  there's  no  one  to  feed  them  now, 
since  Willie  went  away! "  he  muttered,  forget- 
ting all  the  long  years  that  had  flown  since  the 
sunny-haired  boy  sat  in  the  window-seat. 
"I'll  go  and  feed  them  myself,"  said  he,  get- 
ting up  from  his  chair  ;  "  they're  hungry,  poor 
things !  I  wonder  how  I  came  to  forget 
them,"  and  he  shuffled  off  down  to  the  kitchen 
after  some  bread  crumbs,  where  I'll  warrant 
you  he  had  not  been  before  in  many  a  year. 

Old  Kate,  the  housekeeper,  had  gone  out ; 
he  remembered,  after  he  got  down  there,  that 
he  had  seen  her  start  for  the  post-office.  But 
after  much  searching  in  cup-boards  and  closets, 
he  found  a  loaf  of  bread,  and  armed  with  a 
sharp  knife  went  back  to  his  seat.  The  doves 


22  MR.  PEXDLETON'S  CUP. 

were  still  picking  under  the  window.  Softly 
he  raised  the  great  sash  and  leaned  out. 

"Maybe  they'll  think  it's  Willie,"  lie  said 
softly,  as  he  let  fall  a  shower  of  crumbs,  and 
laughed  a  bit  contentedly  to  see  how  the  half- 
famished  birds  crowded  around.  What  a 
strange  picture  he  made !  Had  there  been 
any  passers-by  they  would  doubtless  have  pro- 
nounced him  crazy  at  once.  Aged  and  vener- 
able he  looked,  framed  in  by  the  dark  window 
sashes,  with  his  white  beard  sweeping  the 
ledge,  and  his  wrinkled  hands  eagerly  whittling 
fragments  off  the  big  loaf  under  his  arm,  while 
he  laughed  with  almost  childish  glee  to  see  the 
soft-feathered  things  scurry  about.  Had  his 
brother-antiquarians  seen  him  at  that  moment, 
they  would  not  have  recognized  him.  They 
supposed  him  the  grimest  of  all  mortals.  But, 
you  know,  they  knew  nothing  about  his  little 
boy. 

Just  at  that  instant  a  vision  of  sunny  curls, 


THE    ANTIQUARY.  23 

bright  eyes,  and  sweet  little  mouth,  rose  up 
before  him  — just  as  if  the  doves  had  startled 
it  —  and  uttering  a  cry  the  old  man  drew 
back,  thrust  down  the  window  hurriedly  and 
dropping  his  loaf  and  knife  sank  back  in  his 
chair  with  a  shiver. 

"  O  my  little  boy !  "  he  said,  "  what  did  you 
come  back  for  !  To  see  poor  old  papa  ?  " 

But  there  was  no  answer;  the  vision  —  if 
vision  there  had  been  —  had  fled,  and  there 
was  only  the  wide  stretch  of  gray  sky  to  be 
seen,  and  the  clamor  of  the  doves  below  to  be 
heard. 


CHAPTER  II. 

A  JOURNEY  AFTER  A  CUP. 


hand  pressed  over  his  dim  old 
eves'  ^e  sat  moti°nless  till  a  door, 
somewhere  down  in  the  house- 
keeper's dominion,  slammed  vio- 
lently together.  Doubtless  a  current  of  air 
had  drawn  it  to,  for  Mr.  Pendleton's  doors 
were  not  apt  to  slam  by  any  human  agency. 
Presently  old  Kate's  footsteps  were  heard  on 
the  stairs,  and  pushing  open  the  cabinet-door 
she  entered  with  the  old  gentleman's  mail. 
She  moved  noiselessly  across  the  floor  and 
placed  it  upon  the  writing-table,  and  in  so  doing 
spied  the  loaf  and  knife  upon  the  floor.  For 
an  instant  her  eyes  opened  very  wide  with 
24 


A   JOURNEY   AFTER   A    CUP.  25 

wonder,  then  she  stooped,  picked  up  the  bread, 
gathered  up  the  crumbs  carefully  in  her  hand, 
and  hiding  them  under  her  apron  went  out  as 
noiselessly  as  she  entered. 

After  a  little  time  Mr.  Pendleton  looked  up 
with  a  long  sigh  —  perceived  that  the  house- 
keeper had  withdrawn  —  and  presently  turned 
to  look  at  his  mail.  Only  one  paper  and  one 
letter.  Yet  the  letter  was  large  enough  for 
two,  and  was  sealed  with  a  great  red  old- 
fashioned  stamp.  The  old  gentleman's  eye 
brightened  as  he  looked  upon  it.  "  Ahem," 
said  he  -,  "  here  is  business,  I  suspect !  "  '  The 
tenderness  faded  out  of  his  face,  and  he  was 
once  more  the  stern,  grave  old  antiquarian. 
Hurriedly  he  broke  the  seal,  and  then  to  his 
dismay  found  that  his  spectacles  were  not  upon 
his  nose.  Where  could  they  be  ?  He  peered 
under  the  writing-table,  and  between  the  legs 
of  his  easy-chair,  but  no  spectacles  were  there. 
He  tumbled  over  all  the  books  and  papers  upon 


26  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

his  desk,  but  to  no  purpose.  Then  he  lost  pa- 
tience and  shuffled  down  to  the  kitchen  in  a 
great  hurry,  where  old  Kate  was  making  her 
tea,  and  there  overhauled  her  neat  cupboards 
and  closets,  working  dire  confusion  within. 
And  then  he  suddenly  bethought  himself  of  the 
window-seat  and  the  doves,  and  hurrying 
around  the  house,  presently  found  his  spectacles 
lying 'safe  and  sound  upon  the  stones  where 
they  had  fallen  when  he  leaned  out  to  scatter 
crumbs.  Safely  seating  them  once  more  upon 
his  nose,  he  hurried  back  to  the  comfort  of  his 
easy-chair,  and  there  re-opened  his  letter. 
And  this  was  what  it  contained  :  — 

"  WAYNETHORPE,  JANUARY  20th. 
Respected  Sir : 

I  have  some  delightful  news  for  you.  I 
should  have  communicated  it  earlier,  but  other 
business  prevented.  Morton  has  a  most  won- 
derful cup  —  excelling  everything  which  I  have 


A   JOURNEY    AFTER    A    CUP.  27 

seen  in  that  line  these  twenty  years  —  and  you 
know  I  have  seen  some  cups  in  that  time. 
This  is  of  silver  —  antique  pattern  —  and  is  at 
least  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  old. 
It  is  perfectly  wonderful.  The  price  is  fabu- 
lous, and  beyond  my  means,  but  not  beyond 
yours  I  am  aware  ;  and  I  want  you  to  secure 
it.  To  do  this  you  will  be  obliged  to  come  on 
and  take  it  at  once,  as  it  will  pass  out  of  Mor- 
ton's hands  in  a  week  or  so.  Don't  delay  a 
moment  after  getting  this  note,  as  a  few  hours 
may  be  fatal  to  your  success.  Hope  you  are 
well,  and  shall  look  for  you  on  the  next  train. 
I'll  be  at  the  depot,  and  we'll  go  to  Morton's 
at  once  and  secure  it. 

Yours  in  great  haste, 

J.  HARVEY." 
To  Mr.  Jno.  Pendleton. 

Now   did   the   old   gentleman's   eyes   fairly 
shine  with  joy  !     He  folded  up  the  letter  and 


28  MR.    PENBLETOX'S   CUP. 

carefully  bestowed  it  in  his  waiscoat  pocket. 
Then  he  rang  the  bell,  and  old  Kate  made  her 
appearance  as  soon  as  her  aged  feet  could  climb 
the  stairs.  "  Well,  mistress  Kate,"  said  he 
briskly,  "my  overcoat  and  slippers  if  you 
please  !  —  but  stay  —  I  mean  —  did  I  say  over- 
coat ?  I  know  not  how  that  word  crept  into 
my  head !  I  mean  my  cloak  and  boots.  Let 
them  come  quickly  I  pray  you."  Now  the 
cloak  hung  directly  over  the  old  gentleman's 
head,  and  the  boots  lay  under  his  writing-table. 
But  old  Kate  was  accustomed  to  these  freaks 
of  absent-mindedness  on  the  part  of  her  master, 
and  gravely  took  down  the  quaint  cloak,  and 
brought  him  his  boots.  Then  she  stood  with 

o 

folded  hand  waiting  for  further  orders.  On 
went  the  boots  in  a  great  hurry,  the  cloak  was 
pulled  on,  down  came  the  hat  from  its  peg,  and 
Mr.  Pendleton  was  ready  !  Then  :  — 

"  Will  you  have  tea,  sir  ?  "  came  fiv>m  the 
.  housekeeper's  prim  lips. 


A    JOURNEY    AFTER    A    CUP.  29 

"  Tea  ?  no  !  I  can  wait  for  no  tea.  I've  the 
cars  to  catch.  Where's  my  walking-stick  ? 
Ah — and  now  I  bethink  me  I  shall  want  a 
change  of  raiment  I  think.  Pray  see  to  it  at 
once,  mistress  Kate,  and  pack  the  black  valise  ! 
And  then  —  but  stay,  pray  look  at  the  time  of 
day,  will  you  not  ?  " 

The  housekeeper  went  into  the  hall,  and 
presently  returned  to  say  that  it  wa^s  precisely 
five  p'clock.  Now  Mr.  Pendleton  had  travelled 
enough  to  know  that  the  last  train  left  Darn- 
leigh  at  four.  His  letter  had  arrived  an  hour 
too  late ! 

"  Ah  me !  "  he  exclaimed  soberly,  "  I'm  an 
hour  too  late.  Where  has  the  afternoon  gone  ? 
Well,  mistress  Kate,  I  shall  not  need  the  black 
valise  at  all  to-night,  but  let  it  be  ready  early 
in  the  morning.  I  go  to  Waynethorpe  on  the 
first  train.  Tea,  did  you  say  ?  Yes  !  let  ma 
it  directly.  This  is  to  be  a  busy  evening 


30  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

Light    the   lamp,   good   Kate  !  I   must   be  at 
work." 

Off  came  the  cloak  and  hat,  and  were  thrown 
into  a  chair.  The  old  housekeeper  made  it  a 
standing  rule  to  execute  his  last  orders  first,  so 
that  hy  the  time  he  had  divested  himself  of  his 
boots,  the  solitary  lamp  was  lit  and  placed  upon 
the  writing-table  where  there  was  barely  room 
for  it  to  stand.  And  here  the  old  gentleman 
sat  himself  down  to  pore  over  his  books  and 
papers,  and  when  the  housekeeper  came  in 
with  the  tea-tray,  eating  and  drinking  was  the 
very  thing  fartherest  from  his  mind.  So  it 
rftood  and  cooled,  and  when  the  evening  was 
far  advanced  and  he  chanced  to  remember  that 
he  had  had  nothing  to  eat  since  noon,  it  was 
not  fit  to  taste  of. 

Again  old  Kate  was  obliged  to  make  her 
appearance  with  another  tray  of  food,  and  if 
she  had  not  been  a  patient  body  —  entirely  used 


A    JOURNEY    AFTER    A    CUP.  31 

to  her  master's  freaks  and  whims  —  yon  see 
there  would  have  been  sad  fretting  and  mutter- 
ing on  her  part. 

Ill  these  dark  and  silent  hours  the  snow- 
flakes  began  to  sail  slowly  down,  rustling 
against  the  pane  and  peering  in  at  the  old  man 
as  he  studied.  The  lamp-light  threw  a  great 
grotesque  shadow  of  him  on  the  wall  —  a  shad- 
ow that  flickered  and  bobbed  about  in  a  won- 
derful manner  as  the  old  gentleman  turned  his 
head  from  side  to  side.  And  here  he  studied 
and  wrote  and  worked  among  his  papers  till  a 
very  late  hour,  and  then  took  his  way  to  bed. 

The  morning  dawned  snowy  and  gray. 
Old  Kate  was  up  betimes,  and  packed  her 
master's  valise  as  he  had  desired  —  placed  it 
by  the  legs  of  his  easy-chair,  leaned  his  cane 
across  the  arm,  brought  out  his  boots  from 
under  the  book-case;  where  he  had  thrown 
them,  and  put  the  old  cloak  and  hat  where  he 
could  not  fail  to  see  them.  Then  she  went  to 


32  MR.    PENDLElON's    CUP. 

get  breakfast.  Now  the  old  gentleman  had 
worked  so  late  the  previous  night  that  when 
morning  broke  he  was  very  tired  and  sleepy. 
There  was,  moreover  a  dismal  pain  in  his  back 
from  the  effects  of  his  many  journeys  up  and 
down  stairs  the  afternoon  before.  So  he  lay 
and  dozed  away  the  minutes  till  the  clock  in 
the  hall  tinkled  eight. 

"  Eight  o'clock !  "  he  exclaimed,  with  a  little 
cry  of  dismay ;  "  and  the  train  starts  at  half- 
past,  if  I  remember  rightly.  I've  not  a  min- 
ute to  spare  I "  and  out  of  bed  he  got  in  a 
great  hurry,  with  many  a  groan  over  the  stitch 
in  his  back,  and  thrust  on  his  clothes  in  a  very 
disorderly  manner.  Before  his  toilet  was  half 
through,  the  housekeeper  rapped  at  his  door 
to  say  that  breakfast  was  ready  and  waiting. 

"  Yes  !  yes  !  my  good  Kate  !  ''  said  he  ;  •'  I 
will  be  there  as  soon  as  ever  I  can.  Pray 
have  the  black  valise  ready,  for  I've  no  time 
to  lose." 


A  JOURNEY  AFTElt  A  CUP.  33 

And  with  that  he  brushed  his  gray  locks  a 
trifle,  tied  a  black  neckerchief  around  his 
throat,  and  rushed  out  into  the  cabinet. 
There  he  found  that  the  most  excellent  Kate 
had  made  everything  ready  for  his  hand,  for 
which  he  mentally  thanked  her  again  and 
again ;  and  having  donned  his  travelling  gar- 
ments hurried  away  to  snatch  a  few  mouthfuls 
of  breakfast.  Fancy  the  queer  picture  he 
made  as  he  sat  at  the  little  oaken  table  all 
wrapped  and  muffled  in  the  great  cloak,  with  a 
quaint  hat  set  upon  his  bushy  gray  locks,  tak- 
ing alternate  swallows  of  coffee  and  eggl 
And  by  his  side  leaned  the  ivory-headed  cane, 
and  under  his  feet  was  the  black  valise. 

You  would  have  thought  him  some  ancient 
traveller  who  had  barely  time  to  take  his  din- 
ner before  the  stage  started,  instead  of  a  re- 
spectable old  gentleman  who  was  eating  break- 
fast in  his  own  house.  But  not  much  time  or 


34  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

thought  had  he  for  breakfast,  and  presently 
pushed  back  his  chair  exclaiming  — 

"  Now  I  am  ready  !  Mind  the  house,  good 
Kate,  and  I  shall  be  back  before  many  days. 
Good  — "  Another  minute  Mr.  Pendleton 
would  have  been  out  in  the  snow,  but  the 
housekeeper  stopped  him  short  by  observing 
gravely  — "  The  snow  is  over  your  slippers, 
sir." 

He  had  forgotten  to  put  on  his  boots !  but 
old  Kate's  keen  eyes  had  noticed  the  defect  in 
time  to  save  the  worthy  man  a  pair  of  wet 
feet.  Having  exchanged  his  slippers  for  the 
forgotten  boots,  he  hurried  off  through  the 
falling  snow  toward  the  depot.  As  fast  as  his 
feet  and  cane  could  urge  him  along  did  he  go 
—  attracting  the  wondering  gaze  of  every  one 
who  chanced  to  be  in  the  streets.  The  cab- 
men stared  and  grinned,  the  boot-blacks 
laughed  aloud,  and  the  ladies  drew  themselves 


A   JOURNEY   AFTER    A    GUP.  35 

one  side  and  fancied  him  a  crazy  man,  and 
altogether  our  poor  antiquary  would  have  had 
a  very  unpleasant  walk  had  not  his  mind  been 
so  abstracted  by  other  thoughts,  that  he  was 
entirely  unconscious  of  the  various  expressions 
which  his  appearance  excited.  As  he  entered 
the  depot  the  bell  rang,  and  the  engine  whis- 
tled. "  All  aboard  !  "  shouted  the  conductor, 
—  the.  train  started — and  poor  Mr.  Pendleton 
had  only  just  time  to  grasp  the  step-rail  and 
tumble  aboard  in  a  manner  that  caused  a 
brake-man  to  exclaim  sharply — "Old  man, 
you'll  get  killed  some  of  these  days  !  "  But  it 
is  doubtful  whether  he  heard  this  warning,  and 
if  he  did  he  was  not  greatly  disturbed,  and 
was  soon  seated  comfortably  with  his  valise 
and  cane  safe  beside  him. 

It  was  a  day's  journey  to  Waynethorpe. 
Fortunately  for  the  old  gentleman  there  were 
no  changes  of  cars.  For  half  the  day  the 
road  was  over  a  low,  level  country,  which  the 


36  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

snow  had  whitened  and  smoothed  till  it  re- 
sembled one  vast  plain.  At  noon  the  train 
began  to  enter  the  hilly  country,  and  at  noon 
Mr.  Pendleton  looked  up  from  his  book  —  he 
could  not  afford  to  waste  time  in  travelling  he 
thought  —  and  for  the  first  time  looked  around 
him.  The  car  was  hot  very  full,  but  about 
full  enough  for  comfort  and  company.  There 
were  about  a  half-dozen  men  in  military  great- 
coats who  occupied  the  ^forward  end  of  the 
car,  and  who  were  very  merry  over  their 
stories,  and  somewhat  boisterous.  Two  little 
boys  who  seemed  to  be  journeying  alone  occu- 
pied one  seat,  and  they  had  been  staring  at 
the  strangely-attired  old  gentleman  with  very 
wide-open  eyes  half  the  forenoon.  A  poorly 
and  thinly  dressed  woman,  with  a  baby  in  her 
arms,  sat  in  the  seat  directly  in  front  of  him. 
Some  elderly  ladies,  in  the  opposite  seat,  were 
eating  lunch  and  taking  side  glances  at  him, 
secretly  trembling  lest  he  should  be  an  escaped 


A    JOURNEY    AFTEK    A    CUP.  37 

lunatic  who  might  take  it  into  his  crazy  head 
to  butcher  them  all. 

Now  at  the  sight  of  these  ladies  with  their 
lunch,  Mr.  Pendleton  suddenly  found  that  he 
too  was  hungry.  He  took  up  his  valise,  won- 
dering whether  mistress  Kate  had  had  the  fore- 
thought to  pack  him  anything' in  the  shape  of 
luncheon.  Yes,  the  first  thing  which  met  his 
eyes  was  a  nice  paper  of  sandwiches.  Not  a 
very  nice  place  for  sandwiches  in  a  valise,  one 
would  think,  but  good  Kate  knew  full  well  that 
her  master  would  as  lief  carry  them  there  as 
anywhere  ;  and  ten  to  one  he  would  not  think 
of  them  at  all  till  he  got  back.  But  for  once 
the  old  gentleman  found  sandwiches  almost  as 
acceptable  as  books,  and  munched  them  with 
grateful  thoughts  towards  his  house-keeper. 
One  by  one,  people  began  to  eat  their  lunch- 
eons ;  the  little  boys  displayed  a  .  basket  of 
cookies  and  rosy  apples ;  the  officers  made 
merry  over  a  bottle  of  wine  ;  but  the  poor 


38  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

woman  with  a  baby  was  quite  dinnerless. 
Suddenly  a  figure  in  a  great  cloak  over- 
shadowed her,  and  there  in  her  lap  lay  two 
nice,  fresh-looking  sandwiches.  Who  put  them 
there  ?  Somebody  who  did  not  wish  for  thanks, 
it  was  quite  evident ;  and  the  hungry  woman 
ate  them  gratefully,  and  did  not  quite  dare  to 
look  behind  her. 

Now  into  the  hilly  country  rushed  the  train, 
—  rumbling  over  tumbling  streams,  and  shoot- 
ing through  the  dim  and  white  silver  forests. 
Mr.  Pendleton  speedily  lost  himself  in  the  con 
tents  of  his  book,  and  knew  nothing  of  the  lapse 
of  time  till  the  speed  of  the  train  was  slackened, 
and  the  engine  whistled  long  and  shrilly,  and 
then  they  trundled  slowly  into  Waynethorpe. 

The  storm  was  over,  and  the  snow-clouds 
were  breaking  in  the  West  to  disclose  bright 
patches  of  soft  blue  where  the  sunbeams  were 
struggling  through.  Mr.  Pendleton  made  his 
way  through  the  bustling  crowd  at  the  'station 


A    JOURNEY    AFTER    A    CUP.  39 

as  quick  as  possible,  after  finding  that  his  friend 
was  not  there.  Thinking  that  that  gentleman 
had  given  up  his  arrival,  and  fearing  lest  he 
should  lose  the  cup,  our  old  gentleman  at  once 
took  a  cab  to  Morton's  —  a  curiosity-shop  to 
which  he  was  no  stranger.  There  he  found 
the  ancient  cup,  and  purchased  it  at  once.  It 
quite  surpassed  his  expectations.  He  went  into 
raptures  over  it.  And  storing  it  away  in  his 
valise  he  took  his  way  to  the  house  of  his  friend, 
just  as  the  sun  was  setting  and  reddening  all 
the  sky,  and  tipping  the  church-steeples  with 
gold.  And  as  he  goes  shuffling  up  the  side- 
walk, <we  must  be  content  to  lose  sight  of  him 
for  a  little  while. 


CHAPTER  III. 

TWO    FRIENDS. 

SAYNETHORPE  High  school  was 

out,  and  the  pupils  were  running 
homeward  over  the  snowy  side- 
walks,  laughing  and  shouting  as  all 
school-children  do  when  let  loose  from  study. 
It  was  so  pleasant  to  see  the  white  spotless 
raiment  of  snow  over  everything,  and  to  hear 
the  sleigh-bells  jingle  in  the  streets !  And  all 
the  gray,  sombre  clouds  were  breaking  away 
and  floating  off  in  soft,  vapory  masses,  and  the 
long-hidden  sun  threatened  to  burst  through  at 
any  moment. 

The   boys   were   jubilant,   and   snow-balled 
40 


TWO    FRIENDS.  41 

each  other  to  their  heart's  content.  One  by 
one,  however,  their  numbers  lessened  as  one 
after  another  reached  their  homes,  till  there 
were  only  two  of  all  the  large  number  left. 
And  between  these  two  lads  who  were  walk- 
ing so  briskly  down  the  street,  how  could  there 
be  a  greater  contrast  ? 

One  of  them  had  a  ruddy,  merry  face  that 
was  forever  dimpling  with  the  smiles  which 
always  hovered  there ;  he  had  frank,  sparkling 
blue  eyes,  and  on  his  curly  hair  sat  a  warm  fur 
cap  that  was  perpetually  bobbing  about  with 
the  restless  turnings  of  the  owner's  head, 
while  his  soft,  thick  garments  showed  plainly 
that  Harry  Thorpe  was  a  rich  man's  son. 

Poverty  was  stamped  on  the  very  face  of  his 
companion.  It  was  thin  and  pinched,  and 
without  a  trace  of  healthy,  ruddy  color.  His 
eyes,  too,  had  a  way  of  looking  very  sad  at 
times,  and  as  for  dimples  in  his  cheeks  —  why, 
no  one  ever  *knew  such  a  thing  happen  to  Joe 


42  MR.    PEXDLETOX'S    CUP. 

Gray !  His  jacket  was  patched,  and  out  of 
the  elbows  at  that,  and  not  another  boy  in  the 
High  school  wore  such  miserable  pants,  and  as 
for  Joe's  hat  it  was  a  poor  dingy,  faded,  bat- 
tered thing.  But,  strange  as  you  may  think 
it,  these  two  boys  were  the  truest  of  friends. 
Harry  knew  quite  well  enough  that  under 
Joe's  ragged  jacket  there  beat  a  heart  as  warm 
and  faithful  as  heart  can  beat ;  for  hadn't  Joe 
stood  by  him  in  all  his  school-troubles,  and 
once,  when  he  was  in  such  deep,  deep  disgrace, 
didn't  Joe  plead  with  the  teacher  till  his  heart 
relented  ?  Hadn't  Joe's  keen  wits  lifted  him 
over  the  dreadful  slough  in  the  Algebra  lesson 
tune  and  time. again?  And  then,  aside  from 
all  that,  the  poor  fellow  was  so  wretchedly 
poor  and  friendless  that  Harry's  warm  heart 
could  not  but  love  and  pity  him ;  and  Joe 
needed  some  one's  love  and  pity  badly  enough, 
for  the  High  school  boys  were  decidedly  un- 
kinc  at  times.  And  thus,  in  the  Course  of  the 


TWO    FRIENDS.  43 

Winter  term  which  they  had  been  acquainted, 
the  two  became  such  firm  friends  that  they 
were  rarely  apart  when  out  of  the  school- 
room, and  as  Joe's  homeward  way  led  the 
same  as  Harry's,  they  walked  the  long  path 
together. 

Now,  as  they  stepped  briskly  along,  Joe's 
face  began  to  lengthen  visibly.  Harry's  cheery 
whistle  did  not  sound  pleasant  at  all.  It 
grated  upon  his  feelings,  and  made  him  sadder- 
eyed  than  ever.  Arid  presently  Harry  him- 
self stopped  short,  saying  — 

"Why,  Joe  Gray,  what's  the  matter  of 
you  ?  You  haven't  spoke  a  word  since  we  left 
the  boys ! " 

"  I  know,"  said  Joe  faintly,  "  but  —  but  you 
were  whistling  you  know." 

"  Oh,  Joe,  that's  just  no  reason  at  all !  I 
whistle  every  night  and  you  talk  just  the  same. 
Now  think  of  a  better  excuse  than  that !  " 

But  Joe  had  no  reason  to  invent  an  excuse 


44  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

for  his  unwonted  silence,  for  his  trouble  was 
not  at  all  visionary.  "  Well,"  said  he,  in  a 
slow  and  trembled  tone,  "  the  truth  is,  I've  got 
to  leave  school !  " 

"  O,  Joe  !  " 

Both  were  silent  till  Harry  said  — 

"  But  you  really  don't  mean  it,  Joe  ?  You're 
only  joking  me  !  " 

"No;"  said  the  other,  "I'm.  in  earnest. 
Jumper  told  me  this  noon.  He  said —  " 

"  Fudge  !  "  interrupted  the  rich  man's  boy, 
"  Jumper  has  told  you  so  a  dozen  times,  or 
more.  I  wouldn't  mind  what  he  says  !  He'll 
get  over  his  stingy  fit  in  a  day  or  two." 

"  No,  he's  really  in  earnest  now.  He's  lost 
some  money  lately,  and  can't  afford  to  send  me 
to  school  another  day.  He  said  I  was  to  take 
my  books  Friday  night  and  not  go  any  more." 

At  this  his  friend's  merry  face  grew  very 
sober  too.  "  Oh,  Joe,"  he  exclaimed,  "  to 
leave  school  when  it's  three-quarters  through, 


TWO    FRIENDS.  45 

and  you  almost  to  the  very  head  of  your  class ! 
Why,  you  can't  and  you  mustn't !  " 

"  I  can,  and  I  must,"  said  Joe  sorrowfully, 
and  then  they  walked  a  long  way  down  tho 
pavement  in  silence. 

High  over  their  heads  the  leaden  clouds  had 
dissolved  into  bits  of  floating  vapor  that  mottled 
the  blue  beyond  it  beautifully.  And  great 
golden  bars  of  sunlight  lay  on  the  white  patches 
of  snow,  and  in  the  boughs  of  the  spruces  which 
ornamented  the  door-yard. 

A  little  way  farther  in  silence,  and  they 
reached  Harry's  gate.  It  opened  into  a  pretty 
little  yard  with  winding  walks  and  leafless 
shrubbery,  and  tall, 'stately  fir-trees  which  half 
hid  the  stone  cottage  beyond.  "  Now  Joe," 
said  he,  "just  stop  a  few  minutes,  and  we'll 
talk  about  it.  Perhaps  we  can  think  of  some- 
thing." 

Joe  shook  his  head  hopelessly  as  his  friend 


46  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

stepped  within  the  gate,  but  stopped  neverthe« 
less. 

"  Now,"  said  the  merchant's  son,  "  if  we 
only  had  money  enough  to  finish  this  term, 
perhaps  Jumper  will  send  you  himself  the  next. 
Haven't  you  any  Joe  ?  " 

"  Not  a  penny ! "  said  Joe,  with  a  faint 
smile. 

"  Oh  dear  !  "  said  Harry,  "  that's  bad.  And 
I've  spent  every  cent  of  my  spending  money 
for  this  quarter,  too.  What  did  I  do  it  for  ? 
But  you  see,  Joe,  I  got  father  to  allow  me  half 
of  it  at  Christmas,  and  the  other  half  I've  spent 
for  things  which  did  me  no  good  at  all.  Oh, 
how  I  wish  I  hadn't !  " 

Joe  shuffled  his  feet  about  in  the  snow  —  his 
thin  cheeks  getting  very  red  —  and  when  his 
friend  was  through,  said : — 

"  I  couldn't  take  your  money  if  you  had  a 
mint  of  it,  Harry." 


TWO    FRIENDS.  47 

"  Couldn't  take  my  money  ?  Why,  1*4  like 
to  know.  But  you  would  if  1  had  it,  for,  do 
you  see,  I'd  make  you !  How  could  you  help 
yourself?  I'd  go  and  pay  the  bill,  and  then 
you  would  be  in  a  fix.  But  you  needn't  worry, 
for  I  haven't  got  it.  And  what's  more  I  don't 
know  how  I  can  get  any  1 "  Joe  was  silent, 
while  Harry  swung  the  gate  to  and  fro  very 
impatiently.  The  want  of  money  was  a  sensa- 
tion which  he  had  never  before  experienced, 
and  the  feeling  was  not  at  all  agreeable. 

"  You  see,"  he  continued  confidentially, 
"  that  father  is  dreadful  strict  about  my  spend- 
ing-money.  He  only  let  me  draw  it  before  it 
was  due  because  I  hadn't  a  cent  for  Christmas  ; 
but  he  told  me  then  that  he  would  never  allow 
it  again,  and  I  know  he  wouldn't  if  I  should 
tease  him  all  night.  Then,  even  if  he  would,  I 
should  hate  to  ask  him,  for  it  was  my  birth-day 
last  Saturday,  and  he  gave  me  the  pony,  and 
that  great  parcel  of  books.  Oh,  if  I  ever  spend 


48  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

my  money  so  quick  again  I  hope  I  may  have  to 
go  without.     It  serves  me  right !  " 

"Well,"  said  Joe,  trying  to  look  bright, 
"  don't  think  any  more  about  it.  I'm  sorry  I 
told  you." 

"  I  will  think  about  it,  and  you  needn't  be 
sorry  you  told  me  !  "  said  Harry,  in  his  im- 
petuous way ;  "  I'd  like  to  know  why  I  mayn't 
try  to  help  you  ?  I  think  Jumper  is  real  mean 
and  stingy,  anyhow  !  " 

"  No !  no  !  "  said  Joe  quickly,  "  you  mustn't 
call  him  that !  Jumper  is  poor  and  has  got 
five  children ;  and  I'm  not  the  least  bit  related 
to  him,  either.  So  you  see  he's  kind  instead 
of  stingy,  for  he  isn't  obliged  to  keep  me  one 
minute.  I'd  ought  to  be  glad  that  he  doesn't 
turn  me  adrift.'7 

"  Joe,  you're  a  good  fellow  !  "  said  his  friend 
warmly ;  "I  take  back  what  I  said  about 
Jumper.  But  all  this  doesn't  help  us  one  bit, 
Oh  dear !  what  a  dreadful  thing  it  is  to  he 
poor  I  " 


TWO   FRIENDS.  49 

Joe  laughed  in  spite  of  himself,  —  it  sounded 
BO  oddly  to  hear  such  words  from  that  well-fed, 
well-dressed  boy,  who  thought  less  of  a  dollar 
than  he  himself  did  of  a  penny. 

"  Oh,  you  may  laugh,  master  Joe,"  cried  his 
friend,  "  and  I  know  what  you're  laughing  at ; 
but  I'm  just  as  poor  as  you  at  this  moment. 
I've  not  one  more  penny  than  you ;  and  all  the 
difference  is,  you're  not  to  blame  for  it,  while  1 
am.  I  might  have  had  enough  and  to  spare. 
But  all  this  talking  don't  help  us  one  bit,  as  I 
said  before.  There  isn't  a  plan  in  my  head. 
Help  me,  Joe  !  " 

But  Joe  was  moving  slowly  away,  saying  :• — 

"I  guess  it's  time  for  me  to  go.  Mrs. 
Jumper  will  have  supper  ready." 

"  Pshaw  !  "  cried  Harry,  "  that's  only  one  of 
your  miserable  excuses,  Joe  Gray!  Come 
back,  or  I'll  never  forgive  you." 

Thus  importuned,  Joe  paced  slowly  back. 

"  Why,"  continued  the  merchant's  son,  "  do 


50  MB.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

you  think  I'd  let  you  leave  school,  Joe  ?  and  at 
the  very  time  when  you're  getting  on  so  finely, 
and  going  ahead  of  us  all  ?  No  sir  I  I'll  pawn 
ray  watch  first." 

"  Oh,  Harry  !  "  said  Joe,  with  a  great  sigh 
of  reproach. 

"  Yes  sir !  I'll  pawn  my  watch,  and  then 
next  quarter  I  can  redeem  it  easy  enough  with 
my  spending  money.  O,  I  wonder  I  didn't 
think  of  it  before ! "  and  Harry  laughed  a 
little  with  delight  at  the  good  promise  of  this 
plan. 

At  this  Joe's  face  was  something  to  look  at. 
He  flushed  very  red,  then  grew  pale,  then  said 
firmly  — 

"  I  won't  stir  an  inch  toward  school  if  you 
do  that  way." 

"  Oh,  you  obstinate  Joe!"  cried  his  friend, 
indignantly,  "  I'll  just  let  you  go  your  own 
way,  and  see  what '11  become  of  you.  No,  I 
won't  either !  But  really,  Joe.  don't  be  so 


TWO    FRIENDS.  51 

like  a  mule.  What's  the  good  ?  —  and  you 
make  me  dreadfully  out  of  patience  with  you." 

Joe  leaned  against  the  fence-rail,  and  looked 
upward.  What  peace  and  beauty  was  in  the 
sky!  Somewhere  behind  all  these  long  rows 
of  buildings  the  sun  was  setting.  And  though 
to  the  dwellers  in' the  city  its  dying  was  invisi- 
ble, all  over  the  evening  sky  was  such  glory 
and  richness  and  wealth  of  color,  that  one 
might  easily  fancy  what  lay  hidden  behind  the 
dingy  brick  buildings.  Soft  bits  of  clouds  of 
a  rosy  hue  hovered  everywhere,  and  here  and 
there  were  little  flecks  of  molten  gold  tinted 
at  the  edges  with  purple.  Joe  sighed  a  little 
as  he  looked  at  all  this  beauty,  and  knew  not 
why.  Harry  drummed  on  the  gate  with  his 
fingers,  —  keeping  time  to  the  tinkle  of  his 
sister's  piano  which  floated  faintly  to  their  ears 
•—and  by-and-by  he  said  slowly  — 

"  If  we  could  only  get  some  of  the  gold 
that's  floating  over  our  heads!  Then  we'd 


62  MB.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

have  enough  for  one  school-term,  I'm  thinking. 
Say,  Joe,  why  don't  one  person  have  money  as 
well  as  another  ?  Why  isn't  it  divided  up  as 
it  ought  to  be  ?  I'm  sure  I  wish  you  had 
some  of  ours." 

These  questions  were  quite  too  much  for 
Joe,  and  he  was  silent.  Why  he  lingered  at 
the  gate  he  had  not  the  least  idea.  There  was 
no  use  in  it,  he  thought.  There  was  no  possi- 
ble way  in  which  he  could  keep  his  place  at 
school,  and  he  might  as  well  give  up  now  as 
anytime.  What  use  was  there  in  making  a 
fuss  about  it?  Yet,  —  oh,  how  Joe  did  love 
books  and  study !  Harry  didn't  care  a  snap 
for  books,  and  only  studied  because  he  was 
obliged  to, — yet  he  had  books  by  the  hundred, 
and  had  got  to  go  to  college  sometime,  way  off 
in  the  future ;  while  Joe  —  Joe  that  loved 
them  with  such  a  passion  —  could  never  get  a 
volume  of  his  own,  and  now  had  got  to  leave 
school  in  the  midst  of  hif  studies  for  the  want 


TWO   FRIENDS.  53 

of  a  few  paltry  dollars.  Oh,  why  was  it  so  ? 
he  wondered.  What  should  make  such  a  great 
difference  in  their  fortune  ?  What  right  had 
Harry  to  so  much  more  money  than  he  ? 
How  came  he  to  be  born  to  rags  and  poverty, 
while  Harry  always  wore  the  nicest  and  softest 
of  clothes,  the  shiniest  of  boots,  and  knew  not 
a  want  or  discomfort  from  one  long  year  to 
another  ? 

Now  these  queries  came  suddenly  into  the 
boy's  mind  as  he  stood  gazing  upward,  and 
perplexed  him  sorely.  They  made  his  great 
gray  eyes  look  sadder  than  ever,  and  without 
finding  an  answer  to  one  of  these  perplexing 
thoughts,  he  turned  around  to  his  frieni, 
saying  — 

"  I  really  must  be  going.  Mrs.  Jumper 
scolds  sometimes,  you  know." 

"  Yes,  —  I  know.  Poor  Joe  !  I'm  just  as 
sorry  as  I  can  be.  Now  don't  go  home  look- 


54  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

ing  that  way,  for  I  shall  keep  thinking  of  you 
all  the  time." 

Whereat  Joe  tried  to  smile,  but  could  not. 
Now  the  winter  twilight  was  short,  and  all  the 
glory  which  hovered  in  the  sky  was  fleeting, 
Quickly  the  brilliant  hues  faded  and  turned  to 
gray,  and  long  dusky  shadows  crept  into  the 
street.  Joe  had  taken  two  or  three  homeward 
steps  when  he  stopped  short  at  the  sight  of  a 
queer  figure  coming  down  the  street. 

"  Do  look !  "  cried  Harry,  under  his  breath  ; 
"  did  you  ever  see  such  a  funny  fellow  ?  " 

The  figure  which  had  attracted  their  atten- 
tion was  wrapped  in  a  long  antique  cloak. 
Upon  his  head  was  a  hat  as  ancient-looking  as 
the  cloak,  and  the  slight  evening  breeze  blew 
out  his  long  gray  locks  behind.  In  his  hands 
he  carried  a  black  valise,  and,  what  looked  very 
funny  indeed,  it  was  not  fastened,  but  yawned 
wide-open  and  flapped  back  and  forth  with 


TWO    FRIENDS.  55 

every  step  which  he  took.  Walking  as  fast  as 
possible,  and  nervously  swinging  his  cane,  he 
made  quite  an  odd-looking  personage. 

Now  in  the  pavement,  a  few  feet  from  the 
boys,  there  was  a  step.  The  street  was  thick 
with  growing  shadows,  and  as  the  old  gentle- 
man's eyes  were  somewhat  dim  it  was  no  won- 
der that  he  failed  to  see  it.  He  stumbled  — 
came  almost  to  the  pavement  —  and  dropped 
his  cane  and  valise  to  save  himself.  Harry 
Thorpe  but  illy  concealed  his  mirth  at  the 
sight  of  this  tumble,  and  sad-hearted  Joe  could 
not  refrain  from  smiling  at  the  way  in  which 
the  old  hat  bobbed  about. 

The  old  gentleman  gathered  himself  and  his 
possessions  together  with  a  little  groan,  and 
after  pausing  a  moment  to  re-adjust  his  hat 
and  cloak,  hurried  on  into  the  dusk. 

"  A  crazy  man  !  "  decided  Harry  as  soon  as 
he  was  out  of  hearing  ;  "  did  you  ever  see 
such  an  odd  fellow  ?  Those  clothes  of  his  are 


56  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

at  least  a  hundred  years  old,  —  and  the  way 
that  .valise  flapped !  Why,  I  should  think  he'd 
lose  everything  out  of  it.  It's  no  matter  if  he 
does,  I  suppose,  seeing  he  can't  have  anything 
of  much  value.  I  really  thought  he  was  going 
to  break  his  neck,  Joe  !  " 


CHAPTER  IV. 

FINDING    A  TREASURE. 

ARDLY  had  the  old  gentleman  passed 
out  of  sight  in  the  evening  dusk  when 
a  door  in  the  stone  cottage  opened,  and 
a  voice  called  — 
"  Master  Harry  !  your  mother  says  you're  to 
come  in  to  tea  directly,  and  not  stand  talking 
a  minute  longer  to  that  —  " 

Here  the  door  slammed  and  cut  short  the 
last  word,  but  both  the  boys  knew  that  the 
sentence  was  intended  to  be  finished  with 
"  beggar." 

Harry's  face  flushed  hot  with   indignation, 
and   looking   anxiously   at   his   friend   he   ex- 
claimed : — 
57 


58  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

"  Don't  mind  it,  Joe,  dear.  'Twas  only 
Ellen,  our  hired  girl,  and  I  know  mamma 
never  said  such  a  thing  in  her  life.  I'll  pay 
Ellen  for  that." 

But  to  Joe's  sad  heart  this  was  another 
heavy  weight.  He  was  not  a  beggar.  He 
was  poor,  but  who  was  to  blame  ?  The  same 
Heavenly  Father  who  gave  Harry  his  cottage, 
gave  Joe  his  rags.  And  why  had  he  done  it  ? 
Ah,  that  was  the  question  which  was  so  troub- 
ling the  poor  boy's  heart.  He  did  not  know 
where  to  find  an  answer!  He  turned  away 
from  the  gate  —  sad  and  heavy-hearted. 
Warm-hearted  Harry  could  not  but  notice  his 
dejected  air,  and  presently  Joe  felt  two  arms 
about  his  neck,  and  an  eager  voice  whispered  : — 

"  I  don't  care  if  you  are  poor,  Joe  !  I  love 
you  ever  and  ever  so  much  better  than  if  you 
were  rich.  Now  don't  go  home  with  such  a 
face  I  Cheer  up,  and  don't  mind  it  a  bit,  Joe  !  " 

At  which  Joe's  heart  gave  a  great  throb  of 


FINDING    A    TREASURE.  59 

gratitude,  and  releasing  himself  he  said,  "  Good 
night,"  and  once  more  started  homeward. 
Now  he  had  not  gone  half-a-dozen  steps  be- 
fore he  reached  the  little  step  in  the  pavement, 
and  came  near  having  such  an  accident  as  had 
befallen  the  old  gentleman  a  few  minutes  be- 
fore ;  for  to  his  great  surprise,  as  he  stepped 
lightly  off,  his  foot  struck  something  which 
rolled  and  came  near  tripping  him  up. 

"  I  wonder  what  ails  that  step  ?  "  he  mut- 
tered; then,  by  the  merest  chance,  his  eyes 
happened  to  fall  upon  the  pavement,  and  there 
they  spied  something  which  glittered. 

"  It's  somebody's  old  tea-pot,"  he  said  to 
himself;  "  and  I'll  pick  it  up  and  throw  it  into 
the  street  before  any  one  breaks  their  neck  up- 
on it." 

So  he  stooped  and  picked  it  up,  swung  it 
back  and  forth  a  few  times,  preparatory  to 
giving  it  a  final  throw  into  the  street,  and  then 


60  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

was  suddenly  astonished  at  its  weight.  A  tin 
tea-pot  was  never  so  heavy  as  that ! 

Quickly  he  brought  it  before  his  eyes,  and 

by  the  dim  light  that  was  left,  the  boy  beheld  a 

'  most  wonderful"  and  beautiful  cup  I     Never  had 

his  eyes  looked  upon  such  a  rich  and  splendid 

thing !     Where  could  it  have  come  from  ? 

Filled  with  wonder  and  astonishment,  he  ran 
back  to  the  gate,  calling  :a — 

"  Harry  !  Harry  !  come  back  a  minute  !  " 

His  friend  had  nearly  reached  the  house,  but 
stopped  and  came  back  at  this  appeal. 

"  Why,  Joe,  what's  wanting  ?  "  he  said  in 
some  astonishment  as  he  reached  the  gate. 

"  Why,"  exclaimed  Joe  with  trembling  eag- 
erness, —  "  the  strangest  thing !  I  stumbled 
over  something  by  that  step  in  the  walk,  and 
picked  up  —  this  !  "  and  in  his  friend's  hand  he 
placed  the  cup. 

Harry  held  it  up  before  his  eyes,  and  sur- 


FINDING    A   TREASURE.  61 

veyed  it  for  a  minute  with  breathless  astonish- 
ment. His  eyes  were  more  accustomed  than 
Joe's  to  seeing  elegant  articles,  and  was  con- 
sequently  quicker  to  gain  some  sense  of  its 
value. 

"  Why,  Joe!"  he  said  hurriedly, —  "it's— - 
solid  —  silver  !  —  and  worth  —  oh,  I  shouldn't 
dare  guess  how  much  !  " 

Both  boys  looked  straight  into  each  other's 
eyes,  and  were  silent.  Where  could  it  have 
come  from  ?  Had  it  dropped  from  the  skies  ? 
Then  Joe  said  slowly  -j— 

"  That  old  man  must  have  lost  it  out  of  his 
valise  when  he  stumbled  over  the  step  !  " 

"Pshaw,"  cried  his  friend,  unbelievingly, — 
"  it  isn't  at  all  likely  that  that  old  crazy  man 
carries  silver  cups  around  in  his  carpet-bag,  an 
open  bag,  too.  Why,  Joe,  I  never  saw  such  a 
magnificent  thing.  It's  an  inch  thick  !  " 
*  "  Yes,  it  is,"  said  Joe,  feeling  the  rim  with 
his  fingers. 


62  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

"  And  it's  all  around  with  beautiful  figures 
though  it's  so  dark  I  can  only  feel  them 
Why,  it's  fit  for  an  emperor.  Who  ever  heard 
of  such  a  thing  being  lost  on  a  side-walk  ?  It 
must  have  dropped  from  some  other  planet." 

Joe  drew  a  great  long  sigh. 

"You're  a  lucky  fellow  !  "  exclaimed  Harry; 
but  still  Joe  was  silent. 

At  last  he  said  — 

"  I  wonder  where  that  old  man  went  to  ? 
It  must  have  fallen  out  of  his  valise,  for 
there's  been  no  one  past  since  we  stood  here, 
—  not  a  single  person.  It  must  be  he  that 
lost  it,  though  he's  a  funny  person  to  be  carry- 
ing such  a  thing  about." 

"  I  don't  believe  it  was  he  !  "  said  Harry ; 
"  it's  too  ridiculous  to  think  of  a  minute.  No 
one  less  than  a  king  could  own  it,  I'm  sure." 

The  boys  surveyed  the  precious  treasure, 
and  again  were  silent.  Both  their  hearts  beat? 
very  high  with  excitement.  And  now  into 


FINDING   A   TREASURE.  63 

Joe's  heart  there  crept  for  the  first  timu  the 
first  little  thought  of  that  which  was  afterward 
the  cause  of  so  much  trouble  to  him  —  Temp- 
tation. He  shivered  and  sighed,  and  kicked 
the  snow  ahout  with  his  ragged  boots.  By- 
and-by,  in  a  tone  which  was  more  interroga- 
tory than  affirmative,  Harry  said  softly , — 

"  Oh,  Joe,  now  you  can  go  to  school  as  long 
as  you  like  !  " 

u  Don't !  don't !  "  cried  poor  Joe,  piteously, 
—  "don't  say  that,  Harry." 

"  Why  not,  pray  ?     What  ails  you,  Joe  ?  " 

"  Oh,  —  I'm  thinking  of  something  dread- 
ful. You  mustn't  talk  like  that  to  me.  You'll 
make  me  do  something  wicked,"  cried  Joe, 
kicking  the  snow  about  fiercely. 

u  Wicked  ?  Now,  what  are  you  saying, 
Joe  Gray !  and  what  are  you  kicking  the  snow 
about  so  for  ?  Who  owns  this  cup  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  ;  I  wish  I  did ; "  said  Joe. 

"  Well,"    said  his  friend,  "  I  don't   believe 


64  MR.  PENDLETON'S  COP. 

you  ever  will  know.  I  don't  believe  it  was 
that  old  man's,  and  if  it  isn't  yours,  whose  is  it  ? 
Your  good  fairy  must  have  dropped  it  on  the 
path  for  you,  Joe  !  " 

"My  evil  fairy,  I  think!"  muttered  the 
finder  of  this  treasure. 

"  What,  when  it  brings  you  such  a  good  for- 
tune ?  Oh,  Joe !  just  think  of  the  things 
which  this  splendid  cup  will  buy  you  !  It  will 
send  you  to  school  a  dozen  times,  and  get  you 
new  clothes,  and  warm  ones,  too,  and  —  and  —  - 
oh,  I  can't  begin  to  tell  you  half  the  things  it 
will  get ! " 

Now  Harry  Thorpe  was  not  a  bad  boy  at 
heart ;  he  would  no  more  have  stolen  a  penny 
than  he  would  have  allowed  his  hand  out  off. 
But  now,  when  this  great  treasure  had  so  sud- 
denly fallen  into  his  friend's  possession,  he 
spoke  words  which  at  another  time  he  would 
not  have  uttered.  Here  was  the  means  to  send 
Joe  to  school  as  long  as  he  liked,  to  give  him 


FINDING    A  TREA  HIRE.  65 

nice  warm  clothes,  to  buy  him  books,  to  drive 
away  hunger  and  want  and  those  pinched 
cheeks !  Now  they  knew  not  the  owner  of 
this  precious  thing,  and  why  was  it  not  Joe's 
as  much  us  any  one's  ?  Did  not  he  need  it 
more  than  any  one  else  ?  Had  not  he  found 
it  ?  Was  not  what  one  found,  one's  own  ? 

Perhaps  the  boys  knew  what  was  in  each 
other's  hearts,  for  they  were  silent  a  long  time 
after  the  last  remark  of  Harry's.  Over  their 
heads  the  bright,  beautiful  stars  came  out  and 
looked  down  upon  them.  A  fair  young  moon 
crept  out  of  the  white  clouds  to  silver  the  snow, 
and  roofs,  and  .steeples  a  little.  And  it  shone 
upon  that  wonderful  cup  in  Harry's  hand,  and 
set  its  burnished  sides  a-glitter,  and  made  the 
rich  tracery  glisten  like  frost-work.  Oh,  the 
temptation  ! 

Presently  the  door  of  the  stone  cottage 
opened,  and  a  soft  voice  said : — 


66  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

"  Harry,  supper  is  over,  and  you  must  come 
in  at  once,  if  you  wish  any." 

"  Yes !  yes !  I'll  come  in  a  minute,"  said 
Harry ;  and  then  he  turned  to  his  friend,  say- 
ing:— 

"I've  got  to  go  in  now,  Joe,  for  certain. 
That  was  mamma.  Now  —  now  what  are  you 
going  to  do  with  —  with  the  cup  ?  " 

"Oh  dear!"  sighed  Joe ;  "  I  wish  I'd 
never  found  it.  What  can  I  do  with  it  ?  " 

"  Carry  it  home  for  to-night,  or  you  can 
leave  it  with  me,"  suggested  his  friend ;  "  I 
shall  not  show  it  to  any  one,  you  may  believe." 

Joe  hesitated  a  moment,  then  said : — 

"  Well,  I  guess  I'll  leave  it  with  you.  I've 
no  place  to  put  it,  and  Jumper  might  see  it  and 
take  it  away  from  me.  Yes  !  I'll  leave  it  with 
you  to-night." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Harry  ;  "  it's  jnst  as  you 
say,"  and  hiding  it  under  his  coat,  he  gave  hia 


FINDING    A    TREASURE.  67 

friend  a  hurried  good-night,  and  ran  up  the 
walk  out  of  sight.  Joe  lingered  at  the  gate  till 
.he  saw  the  parlor-door  swing  wide  —  letting 
out  a  great  glow  of  warm  light,  and  a  burst  of 
sweet  music  —  and  Harry  enter.  And  then  he 
turned  himself  about  to  go  to  his  own  house. 
Oh,  how  dingy  and  cheerless  it  seemed  in  con- 
trast with  the  one  he  was  now.  leaving !  No 
sweet-voiced  mother,  no  gentle  sister,  no  proud 
and  kind-hearted  father  ;  no  bright  and  cheer- 
ful rooms,  no  waiting  supper-table,  no  joy  and 
music  for  him. 

Joe's  heart  ached  sadly  as  he  paced  along 
the  pavement.  He  resolutely  determined  to 
drive  away  all  thoughts  of  the  treasure  that 
night,  and  to  make  no  decision  concerning  it 
till  the  next  morning,  when  his  head  would  be 
quieter,  and  free  from  all  those  dreadful, 
troublesome  thoughts,  he  hoped.  All  along 
his  path  fell  broad  bars  of  rosy  light  from  win- 
dows where  he  could  see  pleasant  family 


68  MR.    PENDLETON'S    CUP. 

groups  around  a  cosey  tea-table;  or  clusteis 
of  merry-faced,  bright-eyed  children  playing 
'games,  or  romping  with  good-natured  papa. 
And  at  one  house  with  long,  low  windows 
there  was  a  children's  party,  and  the  little 
folks  were  dancing  merrily  to  the  time  of  a 
lively,  cheery  tune.  The  yellow  gas-light  lit 
up  the  great  room  in  which  they  were  gath- 
ered, and  showed  tall  cases  of  books,  walls 
hung  with  pictures,  and  vases  of  bright,  sum- 
mer-like flowers. 

He  lingered  a  minute  on  the  pavement  un- 
der the  window  to  see  how  joyous  and  gleeful 
the  children  were,  and  how  lightly  they 
danced.  It  seemed  to  him  that  he  had  never 
seen  so  many  merry,  happy  people  before,  — 
or  if  he  had,  he  had  never  noticed  them  with 
such  keen,  wistful  eyes  as  he  did  this  night. 
Oh,  I  cannot  tell  you  half  the  weight  of  lone- 
liness and  desolation  that  settled  down  in  his 
heart  as  he  passed  down  the  long,  long  street, 


FINDING    A    TREASURE.  69 

r 

and  found  such  happiness  for  everybody  but 
himself.  It  seemed  to  him  that  he,  of  all  that 
great  city-full  of  people,  was  the  only  friend- 
less and  desolate  one.  And  his  only  pleasure, 
that  of  going  to  school,  was  to  be  taken  from 
him  in  a  few  days,  and  then  what  should  he 
do  ?  Beg  for  Jumper  ?  No  !  before  he  would 
do  that  he  would  keep  the  — u Pshaw!"  he 
cried  to  himself,  "  I  was  not  going  to  think  of 
that  miserable  cup  again  to-night.  Oh,  how 
late  it's  getting  to  be  !  Jumper  will  certainly 
take  my  ears  off." 

He  looked  up  into  the  sky,  saw  how  the 
myriad  stars  had  crept  out  to  twinkle  through 
the  clouds,  and  soon  the  city  bells  chimed  out 
seven.  Then,  partly  because  his  toes  were 
very  cold,  and  partly  because  of  the  lateness 
of  the  hour,  he  broke  into  a  run. 

It  was  yet  a  long  way  to  the  Juniper  abode 
Down  —  down  —  toward  the  lower  end  of  tho 
city,  he  pressed  on.  The  handsome  stone  cot* 


70  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

tages  and  great  brick  blocks  were  left  behind, 
and  dingy,  dark  old  wooden  tenements  took 
their  places.  In  some  of  them  not  a  light  wa:> 
to  be  seen,  save  the  faint  flicker  of  moon- 
beams in  the  dirty,  cob-webbed  panes.  Here 
and  there,  in  the  darkest  alleys,  a  street-lamp 
glowed.  Dreariness,  misery,  filthiness  was 
stamped  upon  everything.  The  pure  white 
snow  had  fallen  upon  the  dirty  walks,  and  over 
the  filthy  gutters,  and  hid  for  a  little  time  their 
unseemliness. 

Often  upon  the  clear  evening  air  rang  the 
echo  of  a  drunken  song,  or  the  shouts  and  cri^s 
of  some  noisy  rioters ;  and  once  Joe's  race 
was  checked  by  a  crowd  of  boisterous  tipplers 
who  were  gathered  on  the  side- walk  quarrelling 
among  themselves.  As  he  came  running  along 
they  seized  upon  him  as  an  object  for  their 
drunken  sport,  and  it  was  not  until  some  min- 
utes had  passed,  and  he  had  received  some 
rough  knocks,  that  he  managed  to  slip  away, 


FINDING    A   TREASURE.  <  I 

But  it  was  not  the  first  time  that  Joo  had  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  such  men,  and  not  much  dis- 
turbed thereby,  he  hurried  on,  and  presently 
reached  the  Jumper  residence.  It  was  a  little 
story-and-a  half,  tumble-down  wooden  building, 
squeezed  in  between  two  tall,  dingy  tenement 
houses.  The  residents  of  this  disreputable 
neighborhood  looked  upon  Mr.  Jumper  as  rich, 
because  he  lived  in  a  house  of  his  own ;  but 
beyond  this  miserable  shelter  Juniper  had 
nothing.  He  was  addicted  to  taking  a  drop 
too  much  now  and  then,  and  but  for  this  vice 
he  would  have  been  a  moderately  kind  husband 
and  father.  As  it  was,  the  residence  was  often 
the  scene  of  brawls  between  husband  and  wife, 
and  in  these  squabbles,  Jumper  generally  got 
the  worst  of  it.  He  was  a  house-carpenter  by 
trade,  and  when  sober  usually  earned  good 
wages. 

Why  he  kept  poor  penniless  Joe  was  some- 
thing of  a   mystery      The    lad   had   not   the 


T2  JR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

slightest  claim  upon  his  charity,  and  Jumper 
had  found  him  wandering  about  the  streets  one 
chilly  winter  evening  and  brought  him  to  his 
dwelling  to  *'  stay  over  night,"  as  he  said. 
That  was  several  long  years  ago,  and  the 
carpenter  had  never  quite  the  heart  to  turn 
him  adrift,  and  so  the  boy  grew  up  and  got  a 
term  at  school  now  and  then  when  Jumper  had 
the  means. 

Mrs.  Jumper  was  a  thin-faced,  sharp-fea- 
tured woman,  whose  back-hair  always  hung 
down  her  back,  and  who  was  not  at  all  neat- 
looking.  All  the  inmates  of  the  tumble-down 
house  stood  in  awe  of  her  tongue,  and  Mr. 
Jumper  stood  somewhat  in  awe  of  her  fists. 
She  did  not  look  upon  poor  Joe  with  very 
favorable  eyes  —  partly  because  she  consid- 
ered him  a  burden  upon  their  means,  and 
partly  because  he  was  smarter  than  her  own 
children.  She  always  contrived  to  give  him 
the  hardest  bits  of  crust,  and  the  scantiest 


FINDING    A  TREASURE.  73 

allowance  of  soup ;  at  which  Joe  did  not  grum- 
ble at  all,  but  was  thankful  that  he  <*ould  get 
any. 

Now  as  he  reached  home  this  star-lit  night, 
he  fancied  the  house  to  be  unusually  silent. 
The  dim  light  of  a  candle  flickered  through 
the  window,  and  showed  that  the  Jumpers 
were  at  home,  but  very  quiet  for  such  a  noisy 
family. 

With  many  misgivings  he  lifted  the  latch, 
pushed  open  the  crazy  old  door,  and  entered. 


CHAPTER  V. 

JOE'S      TEMPTATION. 

RS.  JUMPER  was  in  ill  humor, 
Joe  saw  that  as  soon  as  he  set  foot 
within  the  room.  Her  cheeks  were 
flushed,  and  her  eyes  rested  upon 
him  with  no  mild  glance.  Jumper  sat  in  one 
corner  looking  very  sullen,  and  the  boy  was 
instantly  aware  that  they  had  been  quarreling. 
Very  likely  the  carpenter  had  come  home 
drunk.  Neither  spoke  at  first,  and  Joe  took 
off  his  hat  and  went  to  the  old  cracked  stove 
to  warm  his  numb  toes.  The  five  little  Jump- 
ers had  gone  to  bed,  and  for  once  the  boy  had 
a  comfortable  seat  without  any  crowding ;  but 

74 


JOE'S   TEMPTATION.  75 

unfortunately  for  him  he  trod  upon  the  tip 
of  old  Tiger's  tail  as  it  protruded  from  under 
the  stove,  causing  the  dog  to  set  up  a  most 
dolorous  howl  of  pain  and  anger.  Whereupon, 
Mrs.  Jumper  opened  her  vials  of  wrath. 

"  Joe  Gray ! "  cried  she,  "  what  do  you 
mean  by  stayin'  out  so  late  ?  "  Joe  was  silent, 
that  being  his  only  shield  of  defence.  u  It's 
half-past  seven,  if  it's  a  minnit !  A  pretty 
time  to  get  home  from  school.  But,  thank 
Fortune,  you  won't  have  a  chance  to  play 
truant  much  longer!  —  your  school-going  is 
about  over,  sir.  Where've  you  been  to? 
Come,  speak  out,  or  I'll  make  ye  !  " 

"  I  stopped  on  the  rood  home  with  Harry 
Thorpe,"  Joe  remarked  mildly. 

"  I  thought  so !  —  I  knew  about  where  ye 
was.  High  times,  Master  Joe,  your're  having 
•vitli  that  big  boy's  son !  Don't  care  much 
about  the  Jumpers  just  now,  do  ye?  Come, 
now,  why  don't  ye  leave  us  for  good  and  all?" 


76  MR.  PEXDLETON'S  CUP. 

"  "Wife,"  interposed  the  carpenter,  "  Joe 
hasn't  —  " 

Mrs.  Jumper  faced  about  with  a  look  which 
cut  her  husband  short.  Joe  took  advantage 
of  this  temporary  lull  in  the  tempest  to  enquire 
if  there  was  any  supper  left  for  him. 

"  Well,  now,"  observed  the  irate  lady  very 
ironically,  "  that's  cool !  Supper  ?  I  declare  ! 
Why,  ha'nt  ye  been  to  supper  ?  Of  course  ye 
have !  You  took  supper  with  them  smart 
Thorpes',  and  now  you  think  you  can  git 
another  out  of  us.  But,  my  young  friend,  you 
can't  come  it." 

To  which  poor  Joe  could  only  protest  that 
he  had  not  tasted  a  mouthful  since  noon.  Mrs. 
Jumper  shook  her  head  incredulously,  and  af- 
fected not  to  believe  one  word  of  the  story. 

"  Things  have  come  to  a  pretty  pass,"  said 
she  sneeringly,  "when  a  boy  of  your  >  age '11 
tell  lies  as  fast  as  he  can  talk.  What !  do  you 
'spose  you  can  make  me  think  that  ye're  in 


JOE'S   TEMPTATION.  77 

such  smart  company  and  haven't  had  an  invite 
to  supper?  No,  sir!  I  know  gentle  folk's 
manners  better  than  that.  Shame  upon  ye, 
Joe  Gray,  for  being  so  greedy !  —  tryin'  to 
take  the  very  victuals  out  of  the  mouth  of 
them  that's  starving,  when  you're  living  on  the 
fat  of  the  land  !  " 

Now  Mrs.  Jumper  knew  perfectly  well  that 
Joe  had  not  had  a  mouthful  of  supper ;  but 
being  in  very  ill-humor,  and  finding  that  the 
carpenter  was  too  sullen  to  be  much  disturbed 
by  her  scolding,  she  showered  all  her  malice 
upon  Joe's  poor  head.  Very  forlorn  and  mis- 
erable was  the  boy  as  he  sat  by  the  stove,  and 
even  Jumper's  obtuse  senses  perceived  some- 
thing of  this,  for  he  made  mysterious  signs 
from  his  seat  in  the  corner,  and  shook  his  fists 
behind  Mrs.  Jumper's  back,  and  made  faces  at 
her,  —  all  of  which  was  to  signify  that  Joe 
was  not  to  mind  her  sharp  tongue  in  the  least. 
The  fire  roa.-ed  in  the  old  stove,  and  shot  little 


T8  MR.    PENDLETON  S    CUP. 

gleams  of  light  through  the  cracks,  and  did  ita 
best  to  warm  his  toes  ;  and  after  he  was  quite 
warmed  through,  and  had  given  up  the  idea  of 
supper  that  night,  he  groped  his  way  up  the 
dark,  ricketty  stairs  to  bed. 

Now  it  is  a  hard  matter  to  go  to  bed  supper- 
less —  especially  when  a  boy  has  been  study- 
ing all  the  long  afternoon,  and  has  spent  part 
of  the  evening  in  the  clear,  appetite-giving  air. 
How  would  you  like  to  try  it,  you  that  hardly 
know  what  it  is  to  feel  hungry?  But  aside 
from  his  empty  stomach,  Joe  had  an  aching 
heart,  and  that  was  harder  to  bear  than  the 
other  pain.  Candle-light  was  a  luxury  which 
he  knew  nothing  of  at  bed-time,  and  it  was  not 
so  much  of  a  hardship  to  grope  his  way  in  the 
darkness.  The  long,  low,  cheerless  room  at 
the  top  of  the  house  he  had  all  to  himself,  — 
that  was  one  comfort !  The  five  little  Jumpers 
slept  in  a  room  below.  Now  as  he  reached 
this  cold  chamber  he  walked  straight  to  the 
window  in  the  end  and  looked  out. 


JOE'S   TEMPTATION.  79 

The  great  dome  of  sky  above  him  waa 
almost  dazzling  with  its  wealth  of  stars.  Bril- 
liant, glittering,  twinkling,  they  looked  down 
upon  him  as  with  ten  million  eyes.  Not  a 
trace  of  cloud  was  there  to  be  seen,  —  nothing 
in  the  wide  vault  but  stars,  —  save  where  the 
city  belfreys  and  steeples  towered  up  silent 
and  dark.  The  young  moon  had  gone  down. 

Now  as  he  sat  here  a  great  crowd  of  turbu- 
lent thoughts  came  rushing  into  his  mind.  He 
thought  of  his  friend  Harry,  now  probably  en- 
joying himself  in  his  father's  pleasant  parlor, 
where  everything  was  bright  and  joyous  and 
comfortable.  He  imagined  to  himself  the  deli- 
cious supper  which  his  friend  had  eaten.  And 
when  bed-time  came,  he  would  go  to  sleep  in 
a  warm,  gas-lit  room,  in  a  snug  little  bed  with 
plenty  of  coverlets.  And  then  Joe  thought  of 
himself.  Here  he  was  in  the  dark  and  cold, 
with  nothing  but  stars  for  a  light.  His  bed 
was  made  of  some  waste  stuff  which  the  car- 


80  ME.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

penter  had  found  time  to  knock  together  f  md 
upon  it  there  was  just  one  poor,  ragged  quilt. 
Hungry  and  faint,  he  would  have  been  glatf  of 
the  crumbs  which  had  fallen  from  his  frifc-'id'j 
plate.  Oh,  why  was  there  so  much  differ'  TA  e 
in  their  lots  ?  And  then  came  a  quick  tho.  ^ht 
of  the  treasure  which  he  had  found. 

Ah,  poor  Joe  !  now  you  are  slipping  all  un- 
wittingly into  the  Tempter's  clutches  !  \  le  is 
in  this  cheerless,  gloomy  old  garret-changer, 
and  presently  you  will  have  a  sharp  corflict 
with  him.  God  help  you  I 

Vividly,  just  as  if  it  had  been  painted  before 
his  eyes,  he  saw  the  cheerless  life  which  he 
was  living  rise  up  before  him,  —  oh,  so  desolate 
and  dreary!  He  saw  himself — ragged  and 
patched —  shunned  and  despised  by  all  respect- 
able people,  by  all  his  school-mates,  except 
dear,  warm-hearted  Harry.  No  matter  if  he 
were  just  as  smart,  and  intelligent,  and  good  as 
they,  it  all  availed  nothing.  It  was  no  matter 


JOE'S   TEMPTATION.  81 

at  all  that  he  loved  nice  things,  and  comforts, 
and  all  the  luxuries  which  other  boys  possessed, 
he  could  not  have  them.  It  was  useless  to 
think  of  it. 

Now  on  the  other  hand  there  rose  up  — just 
vivid  and  distinct  —  the  wonderful  cup  which 
he  had  found  this  very  night,  —  all  its  rim  a- 
glitter,  and  its  sides  shining  with  silver  frost- 
work, as  he  had  seen  it  in  the  moonbeams. 
And  with  the  cup  he  saw  a  multitude  of  other 
things.  There  was  himself — not  ragged  and 
patched  this  time,  but  neat  and  well-dressed. 
There  were  books,  the  very  books  which  he  had 
longed  for  !  There  was  an  abundance  of  every 
thing  nice  to  eat,  and  somehow  he  seemed  to 
see  everything  through  a  rose-colored  medium* 
All  around  him  was  joy  and  brightness  and 
pleasure.  People  no  longer  shunned  nor 
frowned  upon  him,  but  said  —  "  How  are  you, 
Joe,  my  boy?"  and  his  school-mates  were 
friendly.,  ane*  cried  —  "  Joe,  you're  a  fine  fel- 


82  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

low  !  "  And  as  he  looked,  all  these  comforts 
And  blessings  seemed  to  radiate  from  this  won- 
derful cup.  If  he  turned  away  his  eyes  from  it, 
there  was  the  old  miserable,  cheerless  life, 
staring  him  in  the  face  again. 

Were  not  these  queer  things  for  poor  Joe 
Gray  to  see  while  looking  at  the  stars  ?  But 
you  know  the  Tempter  painted  them  for  him  ! 

Presently  in  his  ears  something  whispered  — 
to  poor  Joe  in  the  silence  it  sounded  wonder- 
fully distinct  —  "  Now  which  will  you  choose  ? 
To  live  this  wretched,  hungry  life,  be  sneered 
at,  scolded,  starved,  taken  from  school  and 
abused ;  or  keep  this  wonderful  cup  —  which  is 
yours,  of  course  —  and  with  it  purchase  all  the 
luxuries,  pleasures,  and  comforts  which  you 
have  seen  shining  about  it  ?  Now  whi-  h  will 
you  do  ?  You'll  have  to  decide  one  wa>  or  the 
other,  presently ! " 

The    boy  shivered  —  not  with    the  cold  — 
and  sat  perfectly  still.     Just  then, —  as  if  to  iu 


JOE'S   TEMPTATION.  83 

crease  his  temptation  —  there  came  up  from 
below  the  harsh  tones  of  Mrs.  Jumper's  voice. 
Oh,  how  shrill  and  cross  it  was  !  Then  Juniper 
retorted  in  gruff  tones,  and  then  there  came 
heavy  blows,  the  stove-pipe  rattled,  chairs 
were  overturned,  and  the  crazy  house  shook 
with  the  jar  of  heavy  feet.  After  a  few  min- 
utes of  subdued  scuffling,  Jumper  screamed 
«• 

out — "Let  go  of  my  hair!"  and  then  he 
heard  a  sharp,  ringing  blow,  which  made  the 
woman  cry  out  with  pain.  Oh,  how  bright  the 
cup  looked  at  this  moment !  how  dazzling  I  how 
tempting  ! 

If  you  —  well-beloved,  well-fed,  home-shel- 
tered boy  —  had  been  in  poor  Joe  Gray's 
place  in  that  cold  garret, — penniless,  hungry, 
and  your  ears  filled  with  the  coarse  cries  of 
those  scufflers  below,  —  would  you  have  yi^ld- 
ed  to  the  Tempter  at  your  elbow  and  kept  the 
cup? 

Joe  suddenly  thrust  his  fingers  into  his  ears 


84  MR.    PENDLETOX'S    CUP. 

to  stifle  these  sounds,  and  walked  away  from 
the  window  to  his  miserable  little  bed  in  tho 
corner.  Hurriedly  he  crept  in,  and  drew  the 
coverlet  over  his  eyes  to  shut  out  the  glittering 
object  which  danced  before  them.  He  would 
not  decide  then,  he  thought ;  perhaps  he  should 
feel  differently  in  the  morning.  And  then  the 
Tempter  was  baffled  for  a  little  while ;  but  it 
was  a  long,  long  time  before  sleep  touched  his 
eye-lids,  and  all  the  heavy  minutes  the  stars 
looked  in  upon  him,  —  looked  in  with  their 
pure,  calm,  unwavering  eyes. 

When  Harry  Thorpe  left  his  friend  at  his 
mother's  call,  he  found  the  tea-table  waiting 
for  him.  But  before  he  could  eat  his  supper 
he  ran  up  to  his  room,  and  placed  the  precious 
cup  under  his  pillow.  His  mother  chid  him  a 
little  for  his  tardiness,  and  enquired  — 

"Who  is  that  ragged-looking  boy,  my 
dear?" 


JOE'S    TEMPTATION.  80 

"  Why,"  said  Harry,  with  downcast  eyes, 
hardly  knowing  how  his  mother  would  favor 
the  acquaintanceship,  —  "  it's  a  friend  I  made 
at  school,  mother.  He's  poor,  hut  that  —  that 
doesn't  make  him  any  worse,  does  it  ?  " 

"  Certainly  not,  Harry ;  I  only  hope  he's 
not  a  bad  companion." 

u  He's  a  better  boy  than  I !  "  said  the  son, 
warmly. 

Whereupon  his  mother  allowed  him  to  eat 
his  supper  in  peace.  After  he  had  finished,  he 
loitered  in  the  parlor  a  little  time,  turning 
Ellen's  music-sheets  for  her  as  she  played. 
And  a  trifle  before  the  clock  struck  eight,  he 
announced  his  intention  of  going  to  bed. 

"  What,  so  soon  ?  "  said  his  mother ;  "  are 
you  ill,  Harry  ?  " 

"No,  ma'am,  not  at  all,"  he  replied;  "but 
I'd  rather  go  early  to-night,  I  believe.  I  don't 
care  to  sit  up." 

44  He  misses  papa,"   said  sister  Sophy  after 


86  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

he  had  gone  out,  "and  I  think  he  studies 
pretty  hard  now-a-days.  At  any'  rate  it's  a 
good  thing  for  him,  isn't  it,  mamma  ?  '  Early 
to  bed,  and  early  to  rise,'  you  know." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  mother,  little  thinking  why 
her  son  wished  to  reach  his  room ;  I  hope 
Harry  will  always  stick  to  early  hours.  He 
generally  wishes  to  sit  up  till  ten,  though." 

Once  in  his  room,  Harry  drew  the  cup  from 
under  his  pillow,  and  proceeded  to  inspect  its 
beauty  more  closely  by  the  single  gas-jet  which 
was  burning.  It  fairly  dazzled  him  with  its 
wonderful  glitter. 

u  Oh,"  he  thought  to  himself,  "  Joe  has 
picked  up  a  fortune  this  time !  I  wonder  if  it 
is  really  that  old  gentleman's  ?  Pshaw !  it 
can't  be,  for  that  was  a  crazy  man  we  saw,  and 
he  could  not  possibly  possess  such  a  thing  as 
this.  But  it  is  funny  how  it  came  by  that 
Btep  !  " 

Long  he  wondered  and  speculated  whence  it 


JOE'S   TEMPTATION.  87 

came,  and  turned  it  from  side  to  side  to  let  the 
light  fall  on  every  particle  of  its  rich  tracery. 
Then  he  placed  it  under  one  of  the  pillows  of 
the  bed,  and  soon  after  laid  his  own  head  beside 
it.  And  sleep  came  and  quickly  touched  his 
eye-lids,  and  set  him  to  dreaming  about  it. 

Now  hardly  had  he  fallen  asleep  before  there 
was  a  sharp  pull  at  the  bell  below.  Ellen,  the 
harsh-voiced  servant-girl,  answered  the  call. 
She  found  a  suspicious  looking  character 
there,  and  only  opened  the  door  a  trifle,  — just 
enough  to  let  a  ray  of  light  fall  upon  the 
visitor's  face.  An  old  cloak  enveloped  him, 
and  his  gray  locks  were  crowned  with  a  hat 
of  ancient  fashion,  while  in  his  hand  he  car- 
ried a  black  valise.  In  truth  he  looked  very 
much  like  a  certain  old  gentleman  of  anti- 
quarian tastes,  who  is  somewhat  familiar  to  us 
already.  "Is  the  master  of  the  house  at 
home  ?  "  he  enquired  eagerly.  "  No  sir-r-r  !  " 
said  Ellen  shortly  ;  telling  the  truth,  however, 


88  ME.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

as  Mr.  Thorpe  was  absent  in  a  neighboring 
city  on  business.  "  Then  can  I  see  the  mis- 
tress ? "  demanded  the  old  gentleman.  "  No 
sir ;  I'll  do  your  errand,  sir,  if  you  have  any." 
"Well,"  he  said  in  a  nervous,  hurried  manner. 
"  I  stopped  to  make  enquiries  whether  any  of 
your  master's  family  had  seen  a  cup  —  a  silver 
cup  —  which  I  lost  opposite  this  house,  I  am 
positive !  If  so,  I  can  prove  that  I  am  the 
rightful  owner.  I  purchased  it  only  a  few 
hours  ago,  and  the  receipt  of  payment  is  in  my 
pocket." 

Ellen  stared  blankly  for  a  moment,  in  utter 
bewilderment.  She  thought  the  man  crazy. 

"Why,  she  exclaimed,  "what  do  you 
mean  ?  A  cup  ?  We've  seen  no  cup  !  What 
should  we  know  about  your  cups  or  dishes  ?  " 

"  But,"  remonstrated  the  old  man,  "  there 
were  two  boys  at  the  gate  when  I  passed. 
Perhaps  they  will  remember.  I  stumbled  —  I 
fell  —  and  they  were  looking  on,  and  I  must 


JOE;S   TEMPTATION.  89 

have  lost  the  cup  there  I  Would  you  be  so 
good  as  to  —  " 

"No  sir!"  came  from  Ellen's  lips;  "what 
do  you  take  my  master  for  ?  Do  you  think 
any  of  his  family  would  keep  your  miserable 
cup  if  they  had  happened  to  find  it  ?  Good- 
evening,  sir,"  and  slam  went  the  door  in  his 
very  face.  The  old  gentleman  stood  on  the 
steps  for  a  moment  with  a  very  disconsolate 
air.  Then  he  passed  down  the  steps  into  the 
darkness.  Ellen  went  back  to  the  parlor,  con- 
gratulating herself  upon  getting  rid  of  "  that 
crazy  man  "  so  easily.  When  there  her  mis- 
tress said  — 

44  Who  in  the  world  were  you  talking  to  so 
loudly,  Ellen?" 

44  Why,  ma'am,"  she  replied,  44  the  queer- 
est old  fellow !  —  as  crazy  as  a  loon  !  and  he 
tried  to  make  me  think  some  of  the  family  had 
a  cup  which  belonged  to  him,  —  as  if  master's 
folks  would  keep  that  which  was  not  their 


90  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

own!     But  I   sent   him   where  he  belonged, 
ma'am." 

And  that  was  all  the  mistress  ever  knew 
about  it. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A   FRUITLESS   QUEST. 

v  OWN  the  walk  into  the  street  passed 
Mr.  Pendleton.  The  sharp  slam  of 
the  door  rang  in  his  ears  and  confused 
his  poor  old  head  sadly.  He  stopped 
by  the  gate  to  look  back  at  the  stone  cottage, 
and  to  mutter  — 

"  This  must  be  the  house,  and  there  were 
two  boys  standing  at  the  gate !  I  remember 
them  both ;  but,  after  all,  they  might  not  have 
found  the  cup.  There's  plenty  of  people 
passing  all  the  time,  I  suppose,  and  there's  no 
telling  who  picked  it  up.  Alas  I  alas ! "  he 
cried,  beating  his  breast,  "  I  am  undone ! 
How  could  I  have  been  so  careless  ?  " 

91 


92  MR.    PEXDLETOX'S    CUP. 

He  might  well  ask  that  question.  It  really 
seemed  as  if  the  old  gentleman  had  been 
rather  more  absent-minded  than  usua1 ;  for, 
after  leaving  the  curiosity-shop,  he  had  placed 
his  new  acquisition  in  the  valise,  on  the  top 
of  all  his  baggage,  and  then  had  forgotten  to 
lock  it.  As  the  little  valise  was  very  full,  was 
it  any  wonder  that  the  cup  slipped  from  its 
shallow  resting-place  when  its  master  stumbled 
and  dropped  his  baggage?  He  had  gone 
through  the  streets  in  such  a  hurried,  absent 
manner,  that  his  recollection  of  things  and 
places  was  extremely  dim. 

When  he  arrived  at  his  friend  Harvey's  res- 
idence, he  at  once  proceeded  to  show  him  the 
wonderful  relic  which  he  had  been  so  fortunate 
to  secure ;  but  on  looking  in  his  baggage  he 
found  it  gone  !  Imagine  his  astonishment  and 
dismay !  So  great  was  the  shock  that  at  first 
the  poor  antiquary  could  recollect  nothing. 
Vainly  he  rubbed  his  forehead,  and  pulled  at 


A    FRUITLESS    QUEST.  *   93 

his  gray  locks.  Where  could  he  have  lost  it  ? 
For  a  few  minutes  it  was  useless  for  his  friend 
to  question  him,  —  he  could  remember  none 
of  the  circumstances  of  his  walk.  He  sank 
down  in  an  arm-chair,  and  buried  his  face  in 
his  hands.  In  this  position  he  sat  a  long  time, 
while  his  poor  scattered  wits  came  slowly  back 
—  bit  by  bit  —  till  at  last  he  had  some  vague 
recollection  of  his  unfortunate  tumble. 

"Ah  —  "he  cried,  "  I  have  it  at  last!  I 
see  it,  now  !  I  see  it !  " 

"  Where  ?  where  ?  "  cried  his  friend. 

But  without  waiting  to  answer,  the  old  gen- 
tleman seized  his  valise,  and  forgetting  his  cane, 
rushed  out.  Down  the  street  he  went  as  fast 
as  ever  went  old  gentleman  of  his  age,  straight 
to  the  stone  cottage  before  which  he  stumbled. 
He  remembered  seeing  two  boys  at  the  gate, 
and  had  no  doubt  but  what  they  had  picked  it 
up.  So  he  rushed  to  the  front  door,  rang  the 


94*  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

bell,  and  met  with  but  poor  success,  as  we 
have  seen. 

And  now  he  stood  upon  the  side-walk,  his 
hopes  greatly  crushed.  He  knew  not  which 
way  to  turn.  He  stared  -up  and  down  the 
side-walk,  rubbed  his  head  as  he  had  done  in 
his  friend's  parlor,  and  stood  stock-still.  Then 
he  remembered  the  little  step  in  the  walk,  and 
placing  his  valise  beside  the  fence,  he  got  down 
upon  his  stiff  old  knees  and  groped  about  in 
the  darkness.  No  cup  was  there.  A  man 
coming  up  the  street  stumbled  over  the 
crouched  figure  in  the  old  cloak,  and  was  very 
wrathful. 

"  Take  care,  old  chap !  "  said  he,  "  or  you'll 
get  into  the  lockup  !  What  business  have  you 
to  be  crawling  about  on  your  hands  and  knees 
in  the  dark,  tripping  folks  up  ?  " 

Poor  Mr.  Pendleton  made  the  best  apology 
he  was  able,  and  concluded  with  : — 


A   FKUITLESS    QUEST.  95 

"  I'm  looking  for  my  cup;  good  sir.  Have 
you  seen  it  ?  — an  ancient,  thick-rimmed,  silver 
cup  ?" 

The  man  gave  a  long  whistle.  "  Stark, 
starring  crazy  !  "  he  said  pityingly ;  "I  —  well, 
I  didn't  know  that,  old  chap,  or  I  wouldn't 
have  been  so  hard  on  ye,"  and  with  this  re- 
mark he  passed  into  the  darkness. 

"  Crazy,  am  I  ?  "  muttered  the  old  gentle- 
man to  himself;  "well,  I  begin  to  believe  I 
am.  How  could  I  have  lost  that  cup  if  I  were 
not?" 

After  some  deliberation,  he  took  up  his  valise 
and  entered  the  yard  next  to  Mr.  Thorpe's, 
passed  up  the  walk,  and  rang  the  door-bell. 
Again  a  servant  answered  his  call,  —  a  servant 
more  polite  than  Ellen  had  been,  —  but  who  re- 
fused to  let  him  see  her  master  or  mistress,  and 
who  answered  all  his  questions  very  briefly,  and 
with  much  astonishment  in  her  tone.  Baffled 
again,  he  hurried  out  to  the  street,  beating  his 


96  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

breast  as  he  went.  "  I  never  shall  find  it !  " 
he  cried  ;  "  it's  no  use.  I  might  as  well  give 
up."  Nevertheless,  he  continued  his  search,  — 
hoping  against  hope ;  thinking  that  possibly  the 
cup  had  rolled  out  before  he  stumbled,  and  that 
he  should  find  it  lying  upon  the  walk. 

Now  the  stars  were  out  brightly,  and  as  the 
moon  was  gone,  their  light  was  all  he  had  to 
guide  him,  save  when  the  glow  from  the  house- 
windows  streamed  across  his  path.  It  was  a 
weary  search,  and  of  course  a  fruitless  one. 

He  reached  the  little  curiosity-shop  from 
whence  he  had  started  with  his  treasure,  and 
then  turned  to  retrace  his  steps  with  many  a 
sigh.  A  hundred  times  he  cried  out  against 
his  thoughtlessness,  and  what  with  beating  his 
breast,  and  muttering  to  himself, — it  was  no 
wonder  that  people  thought  the  strange  figure 
had  broken  loose  from  the  Insane  Asylum. 

He  found  his  friend  anxiously  waiting  his 
appearance.  Mr.  Harvey  himself  began  to 


A   FRUITLESS   QUEST.  9T 

have  doubts  whether  the  old  gentleman  was 
quite  clothed  in  his  right  mind,  and  it  was 
a  great  relief  to  see  him  come  back  safe  and 
sound.  He  knew  by  the  way  the  old  gentle- 
man's head  drooped  that  his  search  had  not 
been  successful,  and  made  haste  to  comfort 
him. 

"  Come,  cheer  up,  sir,"  he  exclaimed ; 
"  there's  nothing  like  keeping  up  good  spirits. 
The  cup  must  be  somewhere  in  the  city,  and 
we  can  recover  it  without  much  trouble  I  think. 
We'll  set  the  police  to  hunting  it  up  ;  they're 
great  for  ferretting  out  such  things,  sir." 
Whereupon  Mr.  Pendleton  was  so  much  com- 
forted that  he  partook  of  some  biscuit,  and 
drank  a  cup  of  tea.  In  the  meantime,  Mr. 
Harvey  slipped  out  and  called  a  cab,  well- 
knowing  that  his  friend's  aged  limbs  would  not 
carry  him  much  farther  that  night.  So,  when 
the  old  gentleman  had  finished  his  slight  repast, 
he  was  bundled  into  the  cab.  Mi*.  Harvey  took 


98  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

his  place  beside  him,  and  ordered  the  coach- 
man to  drive  to  police-headquarters. 

After  a  long  ride  through  many  streets,  the 
cab  stopped  before  a  building  in  the  central 
part  of  the  city,  and  the  old  gentleman  was 
helped  out. 

"  There,"  said  his  friend,  "  now  collect  your 
thoughts  a  little,  for  you'll  have  to  answer  some 
questions.  This  is  the  headquarters  of  the 
police  —  the  city-police  —  and  we  are  going  to 
put  the  matter  in  their  hands.  If  any  one  can 
find  the  cup,  'tis  they.  Ready  to  go  in,  sir?" 

Yes,  Mr.  Pendleton  was  quite  ready  to  do 
anything  which  promised  to  be  the  means  of 
finding  his  lost  treasure,  and  after  directing  the 
cab-man  to  wait  their  return,  Mr.  Harvey  led 
the  way  in.  The  room  which  they  entered 
was  not  very  well  lighted,  but  it  disclosed 
several  policemen  with  bright  stars  on  their 
breasts,  who  were  lounging  about  a  gloomy 
coal-stove.  At  a  desk,  strewn  with  papers,  sat 


A    FRUITLESS    QUEST  99 

an  elderly  man,  before  whom  Mr.  Harvey  at 
once  led  his  friend.  The  policemen  around 
the  stove  stared  hard  at  the  old  gentleman,  and 
doubtless  thought  that  a  subject  for  a  mad- 
house was  about  to  be  committed  to  their  charge. 

"  Well,  Captain,7'  said  Mr.  Harvey,  address- 
ing the  elderly  gentleman,  "  my  friend,  here, 
has  lost  a  cup.  We  want  to  put  the  matter  in 
your  hands." 

"Very  well,"  said  the  Captain  briskly, 
"  give  us  the  particulars." 

As  he  said  this  he  looked  straight  at  the  old 
antiquary,  took  up  his  pen,  and  signified  that 
he  was  ready.  Now  Mr.  Pendleton  could  no 
more  have  given  the  whole  sum  and  substance 
of  the  affair  in  one  continuous  narrative,  than 
he  could  have  produced  his  missing  treasure  by 
magic.  This  the  Captain  of  Police  soon  per- 
ceived, for  the  old  gentleman  wandered  off  in 
long  accounts  of  different  articles  of  virtu  which 
he  had  collected  ;  and,  though  it  was  doubtless 


tOO  MB.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

very  interesting  to  himself,  it  annoyed  the 
Captain  sadly. 

"  Stop  !  stop  !  "  he  cried  presently,  "  I  can't 
make  head  or  tail  of  this.  What  kind  of  a  cup 
did  you  say  it  was  ?  " 

"  Silver,  sir,"  replied  the  antiquarian  meekly. 

"  What  style  ?  " 

"Antique,  —  with  clusters  of  leaves  and 
stems  upon  a  ground  of  fretted  —  "  , 

"  Hold !  that's  sufficient.  We  don't  want 
all  the  particulars.  Is  there  any  name  upon  it, 
or  any  peculiar  mark  by  which  we  can  identify 
it?" 

"  Yes  sir  !  "  cried  Mr.  Pendleton  eagerly, 
"  there's  an  old-fashioned  Z  upon  the  bottom 
of  it.  It's  cut  in  deep  and  plain.  It's  the 
mark —  " 

"That'll  do.  I  think  I  know  something 
about  it  now.  A  silver  cup — antique  style  — 
with  a  Z  upon  the  bottom  of  it.  Now  where 
did  you  lose  it  ?  " 


A    FRUITLESS    QUEST..  101 

This  question  was  harder  to  answer.  He 
could  not  tell  for  a  certainty,  but  thought  he 
lost  it  in  front  of  a  brown  stone  cottage  in  — 

"  Oh,"  interrupted  the  Captain,  u  then  il 
was  not  stolen  ?  Hum— um-m  —  that's  a  dif- 
ferent matter  !  You  lost  it  yourself.  Why, 
were  you  carrying  it  in  your  hands  ?  " 

44  No,  sir,  it  was  in  my  valise,"  replied  the 
old  gentleman. 

"  Then  I  suppose  you  lost  valise  and  all,*' 
said  the  captain,  "  and  want  us  " 

44  Oh,  no,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Pendleton,  "the 
valise  is  safe  and  sound." 

44  Well,  then,  please  explain  what  you  do 
mean  !  "  said  the  captain  with  annoyance. 

Here  Mr.  Harvey  interposed  to  say- — 

44  His  valise  was  open,  and  he  supposes  that 
he  lost  it  when  he  stumbled  over  a  step  in 
the  walk  on  Bray  Street.  He  thinks  it  rolled 
out  then,  and  hat  some  passer-by  has  picked  it 
up." 


102  MR.    PENDLETOX'S    CUP. 

The  captain  of  police  gave  a  great  stare  of 
astonishment  at  hearing  how  the  treasure  was 
lost,  and  scrutinizing  our  worthy  antiquarian 
keenly,  he  looked  at  Mr.  Harvey  and  tapped 
his  forehead  significantly. 

"  No,"  said  that  gentleman  in  a  low  tone, 
k  he  isn't  crazy,  —  only  a  trifle  odd,  and  very 
absent-minded." 

"  I  should  say  so,"  remarked  the  captain, 
drily;  and  then  to  the  old  gentleman  —  "Well, 
sir,  if  that  is  the  way  you  lost  your  cup,  I 
advise  you  to  advertise  by  all  means.  Offer  a 
good  big  reward,  and  you'll  probably  gpt  it. 
There's  nothing  like  offering  a  fat  reward ! 
How  much  was  the  cup  worth  ?  " 

"A  thousand  dollars,"  answered  Mr.  Pen- 
dleton,  who,  by  this  time,  had  begun  to  lose 
heart. 

At  this  reply  the  captain's  face  betrayed 
great  incredulity,  —  very  likely  he  thought,  the 
old  gentleman  was  under  the  influence  of  «ue 


A    FRUITLESS   QUEST.  103 

of  his  absent-minded  fits,  —  but  Mr.  Harvey 
said  — 

"  It's  quite  true.  That's  the  sum  he  paid 
for  it  this  very  night.  You  see,  it's  a  rarity  — 
a  great  rarity ;  there's  not  another  like  it  in 
existence.  Now,  rather  than  lose  it  he  will 
pay  almost  any  sum." 

"  Good  gracious !  "  said  the  officer  in  an  un- 
dertone, "  to  think  of  carrying  a  thousand 
dollars  about  in  the  top  of  an  open  valise ! 
Well,  well,  it's  all  sorts  of  folks  that  it  takes 
to  make  the  world,  and  it's  my  opinion  he's 
one  of  'em  ;  "  and  turning  to  the  antiquary  he 
said  —  "  Now  I  think  of  it,  what  reason  have 
you  to  think  that  it  was  not  stolen  from  your 
valise  as  you  walked  along?  Of  course  you 
were  in  a  crowd  more  than  once,  and  what 
was  there  to  hinder  it's  being  removed  ?  " 

Surely,  here  was  a  predicament !  Neither 
the  old  gentleman  nor  his  friend  had  thought 
of  such  a  thing  before ;  but,  as  the  captain  had 


104  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

said,  what  was  there  to  hinder  its  removal  ? 
The  old  man  was  dismayed,  and  would  hardly 
have  noticed  the  loss  if  the  whole  contents  of 
the  valise  had  been  removed. 

"  Yes  !  "  said  the  captain,  with  a  faint  trace 
of  a  smile  upon  his  features,  "  it  would  be  the 
easiest  thing  in  the  world  to  do  !  Why,  a  raw 
hand  at  the  business  could  have  done  it ;  and 
if  that  is  the  way  it  was  done  —  as  I  am  in- 
clined to  think  —  why,  sir,  I  must  say  the 
chances  of  recovering  it  are  very  few.  You 
could  only  hope  to  get  it  by  offering  a  reward 
which  was  greater  than  it's  value.'* 

At  these  words  —  his  confidence  in  the  po- 
lice all  gone  —  our  poor  antiquarian  dropped 
down  in  a  chair  with  a  heavy  sigh.  He  wished 
he  had  never  left  quiet,  peaceable  Darnleigh  to 
follow  such  a  wild-goose  chase.  He  longed 
for  the  comfort  of  his  easy-chair,  and  the  quiet 
of  his  great  dusty  rooms.  His  limbs  ached, 
and  his  head  throbbed  violently,  and  he  was 


A   FRUITLESS   QUEST.  105 

very  much  disgusted  with  the  world  at  large. 
He  mentally  vowed  that  if  ever  he  got  safely 
back  to  the  delicious  solitude  of  his  cabinet, 
not  all  the  silver  cups  that  could  be  crowded 
into  Morton's  curiosity-shop  should  tempt  him 
out  again. 

"  But,'7  said  the  Captain,  after  some  medita- 
tion, "  there's  one  consolation  ;  not  one  person 
in  a  thousand  would  suspect  the  real  value  of 
this  cup.  You  may  safely  conclude  that  who- 
ever has  found  it,  or  stolen  it,  will  never  dream 
that  it's  worth  more  than  its  weight  in  silver. 
That,  you  see,  is  to  your  advantage,  for  you 
can  offer  a  reward  accordingly.  A  hundred 
dollars,  to  commence  with,  would  be  quite  fair, 
I  should  say." 

At  this,  Mr.  Pendleton  brightened  up  a 
little. 

"  And,"  continued  the  Captain,  "  there's 
another  thing  to  be  done.  You  must  put  all 
the  jewellers  on  the  watch  for  it,  and  then,  if  it 


106  MR.  PEXDLETON'S  CUP. 

is  offered  for  sale,  both  cup  and  thief  can  be 
secured.  But  to  this  part  of  the  business  we 
can  attend,  if  you  wish.  The  advertising  you 
had  better  do.  Now,  sir,  for  my  instructions." 

The  Captain  had  evidently  been  hindered 
long  enough  with  Mr.  Pendleton's  troubles, 
and  was  getting  impatient.  Mr.  Harvey  looked 
around  at  his  friend,  saw  that  he  looked  very 
tired  and  warm,  and  accordingly  took  the  busi- 
ness into  his  own  hands. 

"  Well,  Captain,  said  he,  "  do  your  best  to 
look  it  up,  and  we'll  do  our  best.  Don't  spare 
any  money  or  pains  to  find  it.  And  if  you'll 
hand  me  that  pen  by  your  elbow,  I'll  write  the 
reward,  and  have  it  out  in  the  morning  papers/' 

The  Captain  handed  over  the  pen  as  desired, 
and  Mr.  Harvey  wrote,  —  offering  one  hun- 
dred dollars  for  the  return  of  the  cup.  Of 
course  all  necessary  descriptions  were  given, 
and  directions  as  to  the  place  where  it  should 
be  left.  Then  he  bade  the  Captain  good- 


A   FRUITLESS    QUEST.  107 

evening,  assisted  the  old  gentleman  back  to  the 
cab,  and  ordered  the  driver  to  set  them  down 
at  the  Courier  office  as  speedily  as  possible. 

By  this  time  the  streets  were  getting  thinned 
of  vehicles  somewhat,  and  they  travelled  rap- 
idly. After  the  lapse  of  a  few  minutes  the 
cab  stopped,  and  there  was  the  dingy  Courier 
building  before  them,  with  flaming  jets  of  gas 
in  the  windows,  and  the  clanking  and  rumbling 
of  the  presses  filling  the  air.  Only  Mr.  Harvey 
got  out,  and  he  speedily  returned.  And  then 
they  were  whirled  away  homeward. 

Ah,  this  wonderful  cup  was  not  such  a  very 
fortunate  possession  after  all.  You  see  that 
poor  Mr.  Pendleton  was  nearly  worn  out  with 
bustle  and  anxiety  on  account  of  it ;  and  was 
not  poor  Joe  Gray  quite  as  much  to  be  pitied  ? 
And  all  this  time  it  lay  snugly  under  Harry 
Thorpe's  pillow,  who  seemed  to  be  the  least 
disturbed  by  its  existence  of  any  one  into  whose 
hands  it  had  fallen. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

YIELDING   TO   TEMPTATION. 

|ALE  dawn-light  trembled  in  the  East, 

—  the  clear,  shining,  unclouded  East 

—  and  soon  warm  flashes  of  light  flew 
up  the  sky  and  burned  ruddily  there. 

The  city's  steeples  stood  up  soft  and  gray 
against  this  rosy  glow,  and  when  at  last  the 
molten  rim  of  the  sun  pushed  up  behind  the 
hiUs  it  set  the  tower-windows  and  the  burn- 
isLa ..  vanes  and  weather-cocks  all  a-flame. 
And  when  the  sun  had  cleared  itself  from  the 
bills,  and  had  risen  above  the  line  of  slated 
roofs,  some  of  its  stray  beams  wandered  into 
Joe  Gray's  little  window,  fell  across  his  eye* 

lids,  and  awoke  him. 
108 


YIELDING    TO    TEMPTATION.  109 

Joe  opened  his  eyes,  looked  around  upon 
the  bare  little  room,  and  yawned  prodigiously. 
He  felt  very  faint  and  stupid,  and  not  at  all 
like  getting  up.  Very  likely  he  would  have 
taken  another  nap  had  not  Mrs.  Jumper's 
shrill  voice  cried  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs  — 

"  Joe  !  Joe  Gray,  get  up  this  minnit  I  — 
you'll  lose  your  breakfast  if  you  don't." 

Now  by  thib  time  he  felt  quite  too  hungry 
to  lose  another  meal,  and  accordingly  made 
haste  to  obey  Mrs.  Jumper's  commands.  Shiv- 
ering in  the  chilly  air  of  the  garret,  he  drew 
on  his  ragged  garments  and  the  old  boots,  and 
hastily  descended  the  dark  stairs.  Jumper  had 
eaten  breakfast  and  gone  to  his  work.  But 
the  five  little  Jumpers  were  ranged  around  the 
table,  and  their  mother  was  busily  engaged  in 
filling  their  mouths. 

"  Come  1  "  said  she,  as  Joe  appeared,  "  don't 
stand  shiverin'  over  that  stove.  If  ye  expect 


110  MR.    PEXDLETOX'S    CUP. 

anything  to  eat  ye'll  have  to  get  it  pretty 
quick.  Laws  knows  it's  goin'  fast  enough  !  " 

Thus  admonished,  Joe  came  around  to  his 
corner  of  the  table  and  sat  down  on  a  rough 
stool  which  Jumper  had  fashioned. 

"  Pan-cakes  and  soup,"  said  the  busy  moth- 
er of  the  fi\e  ;  "  which  '11  ye  take  ?  " 

"  Soup,"  said  Joe,  inhaling  the  appetizing 
odor.  Mrs.  Jumper  ladled  out  a  plateful  of 
the  broth,  adding  two  potatoes,  a  very  small 
fragment  of  meat,  and  a  slice  of  bread. 

"  There,"  said  she,  "  don't  go  to  callin'  for 
more.  That's  all  we  can  spare  this  morning. 
Takes  a  plaguy  sight  to  fill  these  young  uns." 

Joe  thought  so  too,  as  the  hungry  five  were 
on  their  third  plateful.  One  was  supposed  to 
be  enough  for  him.  And  he  had  not  had  a 
mouthful  since  the  scanty  crust  of  yesterday 
noon.  However,  Jumper's  children  had  the 
best  right,  and  Joe  was  not  at  all  inclined  to 


YIELDING   TO   TEMPTATION.  Ill 

find  fault  this  morning.  He  was  only  too  glad 
to  get  anything  with  which  to  stay  the  gnaw- 
ing of  his  stomach. 

Mrs.  Jumper  was  in  better  humor  on  this 
occasion ;  the  angry  flush  had  died  out  of  her 
cheeks  leaving  them  pale  and  sallow,  and,  for 
a  wonder,  her  back  hair  was  twisted  into  its 
place.  This  last  bit  of  tidiness  was  always  a 
sure  sign  that  Mrs.  Jumper  was  in  a  pleasant 
mood.  And  now  when  Joe  had  finished  his 
scanty  allowance  of  soup,  she  added  an  extra 
potato,  for  which  the  boy  was  very  grateful ; 
and  having  eaten  this  he  went  back  to  his  seat 
at  the  stove.  The  fire  roared  and  sparkled  in 
the  old  stove,  and  shed  a  grateful  warmth 
round  about,  and  the  boy  thought  it  one  con- 
solation that,  if  he  could  not  get  enough  to  eat, 
at  least  there  was  genial  heat  enough  and  to 
spare. 

While  sitting  here  he  suddenly  remembered 
the  cup  !  A  thought  of  it  had  not  entered  his 


112  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

head  before  that  morning,  and  now  he  remem- 
bered that  he  had  agreed  to  meet  Harry  at 
eight  o'clock.  He  looked  up  at  the  dingy, 
smoke-stained  time-piece  behind  the  stove,  and 
saw  it  lacked  fifteen  minutes  of  the  appointed 
time.  Hurriedly  he  took  up  his  battered  cap 
to  go,  when  Mrs.  Jumper  called  out  — 

"Where  ye  goin'?" 

"  Up  the  street,"  replied  Joe,  rather  in- 
definitely, "  and  then  I'm  going  to  school." 

"  Well,"  said  she,  after  a  silence  in  which 
Joe  had  waited  in  some  trepidation,  u  go  long 
with  ye !  But  remember,  though,  that  you 
have  got  to  wind  up  matters  at  school.  Get  all 
ready  to  leave  Friday  night !  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Joe  faintly,  and  went  out. 

Oh,  what  a  lovely  morning  it  was.  Frost- 
crystals  spangled  everything,  and  glittered  like 
splintered  diamonds  on  all  the  bare  fence-posts, 
and  the  spots  on  the  flagging  where  the  snow 
had  melted,  or  been  swept  off.  Great  columns 


YIELDING    TO    TEMPTATION.  115 

of  blue  smoke  crept  up  sluggishly  into  the  rosy 
air,  and  hung  about  the  spires  and  towers  till  it 
turned  to  golden  haze  in  the  sunshine.  The 
great  city  had  stirred  to  life,  and  there  was  a 
cheery  bustle  everywhere.  Milk-men  rattled 
about  with  their  cans,  and  baker's  carts  were 
rumbling  up  and  down,  carrying  hot  biscuit  for 
people's  breakfasts.  Cabs  and  coaches  were 
carrying  people  to  the  depot,  to  catch  the 
morning  train.  Early  business-men,  in  com- 
fortable over-coats,  were  hurrying  to  their 
offices.  Shop-girls,  with  their  little  dinner- 
baskets,  were  tripping  briskly  to  work, —  now 
in  light-hearted,  merry  knots,  chattering  like 
magpies ;  and  again  there  were  solitary  figures 
who  looked  as  if  they  had  just  come  to  the  city 
and  were  yet  homesick. 

All  this  busy  life  pleased  Joe  as  he  walked 
along,  and  somehow  sent  a  cheerier  thrill 
through  his  heart.  It  all  looked  as  if  there 
were  an  abundance  of  happy,  comfortable 


114  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

people  in  the  world,  and  very  likely  he  thought 
there  was  some  chance  for  him  to  taste  some- 
thing of  this  life. 

He  passed  a  market  where  the  butchers  dis- 
played great  sides  of  beef,  and  where  legs  of 
mutton,  veal,  chickens  and  turkeys  hung  in 
festoons  on  the  wall.  At  one  stall  a  man  was 
serving  up  hot  meals  for  the  laborers  who  were 
going  to  their  work.  Joe  lingered  a  minute  to 
enjoy  the  appetizing  odors  which  were  wafted 
from  this  capacious  eating-place.  Oh,  how 
delicious  the  ham  and  eggs,  the  roast  oysters, 
and  the  hot  rolls  smelt !  And  the  odorous 
clouds  of  steam  which  rose  from  the  coffee-cups 
were  fairly  tantalizing  to  the  hungry  boy. 
Again  to  him,  as  he  stood  there,  came  the 
vision  of  the  cup.  It  was  just  as  if  it  said  — 
"  What  a  fool  you  are,  Joe  Gray  !  The  idea 
of  giving  up  such  a  treasure !  Why,  boy,  it 
will  get  you  a  hundred  such  breakfasts  as 
these,  —  to  say  nothing  of  all  the  rest  of  the 
good  things  which  it  will  buy." 


YIELDING   TO    TEMPTATION.      '  11{ 


"  Oh,  dear !  "  sighed  Joe,  "  I  mustn't  stan*' 
here  !  1  mustn't  think  of  it !  "  and  straight- 
way he  turned  his  back  to  it  all,  not  daring  to 
allow  himself  another  look  at  the  tempting 
viands.  So,  you  see,  no  matter  which  way  he 
turned,  there  stood  the  Tempter  with  his  wiles 
and  blandishments.  Everywhere,  everywhere 
there  was  something  to  allure  him.  Will  it  be 
very  strange  if  he  yields  ? 

Along  the  pavement  Joe  hurried,  and  did 
his  best  to  drive  away  all  thoughts  of  tempta- 
tion. Presently  he  began  to  whistle  —  a  mer- 
ry whistle  it  tried  to  be  —  but  fell  very  far 
short  of  that.  The  keen  air  crept  in  through 
Ihe  holes  in  his  boots,  and,  benumbed  his  toes 
sadly.  Then  he  began  to  run,  —  partly  for 
warmth,  and  partly  to  run  away  from  the 
Tempter.  But  that  Evil  one  ran  quite  as  fast 
as  poor  Joe  did,  and  was  present  every  mo- 
ment. He  could  no  more  run  away  from  him 
than  from  his  own  .shadow,  in  fact,  I  think 


Xl6  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 


that  —  all  unknown  to  the  poor  boy  —  the 
Tempter  was  riding  upon  his  shoulder. 

A  long  way  he  carried  this  burden,  —  from 
the  butcher's  stall  up  to  the  aristocratic  part 
of  the  city,  where  he  came  into  the  street 
lined  with  brown-stone  houses.  He  passed  the 
little  step  in  the  pavement  with  trembling. 
What  could  there  be  to  tremble  at  ? 

In  a  minute  more  he  stood  at  Harry's  gate, 
and  then  the  Tempter  left  him  for  a  little 
time,  or  rather  he  forgot  his  presence  in  the 
pressure  of  other  thoughts  which  came  into 
bis  mind.  How  should  he  find  Harry  ? 
Would  those  rich,  grand  people  let  such  a 
ragged  fellow  as  himself  into  their  nice  house  ? 
Would  not  that  disagreeable  servant-girl  drive 
Jiiin  away  ? 

He  lingered  at  the  gate  till  he  was  too  cold 
to  stand  still  any  longer,  but  no  Harry  made 
his  appearance.  Softly  he  lifted  the  gate-latch, 
and  went  up  the  nice  walk  in  much  trepida- 


YIELDING    TO    TEMPTATION.  117 

tion.  He  would  not  have  been  at  all  surprised 
had  some  one  opened  the  front  door  and  bade 
him  leave  the  premises.  But  the  elegant  front 
door  with  its  rich  plate  glittering  in  the  sun, 
did  not  open,  and  he  reached  the  corner  of  the 
house  in  safety.  Here  he  followed  the  walk 
around  to  the  kitchen-door,  and  after  a  few 
minutes  of  hesitation  at  last  mustered  courage 
enough  to  rap.  After  some  waiting,  the  door 
opened  —  letting  out  a  savory  smell  of  break- 
fast—  and  there  stood  Ellen,  the  house-maid. 

"Well?"  she  said  sharply,  eyeing  him  witn 
very  cold  eyes. 

"  Can  I  see  Harry  ?  "  asked  Joe,  timidly. 

"  See  Harry !  —  he  isn't  up  yet,"  said  Ellen, 
coldly. 

"  But  can  I  wait  till  —  till  he  —  till  you  call 
him  ?  "  ventured  Joe. 

"  Master  Harry  doesn't  like  to  be  called 
mornings.  He  gets  up  when  he  pleases.  I 
shouldn't  like  to  disturb  him."  It  was  vory 


118  MR.  PENDLETON'S  cap. 

plain  that  Ellen  meant  to  keep  Harr;  Thorpe's 
friend  out. 

"  But,"  said  Joe  faintly,  "  he  told  me  to 
come.  He  told  me  to  come  here  at  eight 
o'clock." 

The  house-maid  frowned.  "  I  wish  Master 
Harry  would  give  up  his  foolish  notions,"  said 
she  ;  "  I'm  out  of  patience  with  him  !  — bring- 
ing beggars  and  all  kinds  of  trash  here  to 
bother  me.  Say,  what  do  you  want  of  him  ?  " 

Joe  turned  very  red,  but  did  not  answer. 

"  Come,"  said  the  cook  from  within,  "  if  you 
^on't  shut  that  door  breakfast  '11  freeze  up !  " 

"  Yes,  in  a  minute,  cook,"  said  Ellen  ;  then 
turning  to  Joe  she  said :  — 

"Well,  I  'spose  you've  got  to  come  in. 
But  don't  you  never  coine  here  again  to  see 
him,  for  if  you  do  I'll  tell  his  father,  and  have 
a  stop  put  to  this  business.  Mercy !  what 
boots  you've  got  on.  You'll  track  the  stair- 
carpet  all  up,  and  I  shall  have  to  sweep  after 


YIELDING   TO    TEMPTATION.  119 

you.  But  I  'spose  you'd  haye  to  see  him  if 
you  broke  the  stairs  down  with  walking  up  'em. 
Come  along  —  this  way  !  Take  care  !  don't 
touch  the  wall-paper  with  your  clothes." 

Now  Ellen  was  one  of  those  persons,  who, 
when  they  cannot  have  their  own  way,  are  de- 
termined to  revenge  themselves  by  making 
other  people  as  uncomfortable  as  possible. 
And  with  poor  Joe  she  succeeded.  After  she 
had  piloted  him  through  a  dim  hall,  where  his 
feet  sunk  noiselessly  into  a  soft  carpet  — -  such  a 
wonderful  thing  Joe  had  never  seen  —  she 
stopped  at  the  foot  of  a  broad  flight  of  stairs, 
saying :  — 

"  Now  go  up  these  stairs,  and  you'll  find  a 
hall.  His  is  the  first  door  you  come  to,  and 
look  here !  don't  you  stop  to  look  at  things. 
Keep  straight  on,  and  mind  your  business. 
Now  go  along  with  you." 

Joe  gladly  obeyed.  He  was  not  at  all  sorry 
.to  hear  this  disagreeable  servant  go  back  to  the 


120  MR.  PEXDLETON'S  CUP. 

kitchen.  At  the  first  door  in  the  hall  he 
rapped,  obeying  Ellen's  injunction  strictly,  and 
looking  neither  to  the  right  nor  left.  No  one 
answered,  and  he  rapped  again.  Still  no  voice 
bade  him  enter,  and  he  lingered  in  some  doubt 
by  the  door.  Then  he  rattled  the  knob  a 
little,  and  finally  ventured  to  turn  it.  The 
door  swung  open,  and  revealed  Harry  sound 
asleep  —  asleep  in  such  a  beautiful,  wonderful 
room  as  poor  Joe  had  never  set  eyes  upon. 
"  Oh,  he  lives  like  a  prince  !  "  he  cried  to  him- 
self, and  with  these  words  there  was  the 
Tempter  back  once  more  !  Softly  he  entered, 
and  softly  he  closed  the  door  behind  him,  and 
stood  silently  in  that  sleeping-room,  upon  which 
wealth  had  lavished  every  adornment. 

"  T  declare  ! "  said  Joe  to  himself,  with  a 
little  bitter  laugh,  "  I  don't  wonder  that  he 
thinks  it's  a  dreadful  thing  to  be  poor  !  He  to 
-  be  troubled  because  he's  poor  !  " 

Then  he  went  up  to  the  bedside  and  touched 


YIELDING    TO    TEMPTATION.  121 

his  friend's  face  gently,  and  whispered  in  his 
ear  —  "Harry I"  Whereupon  Harry  awoke 
with  a  little  start,  and  stared  blankly  at  his 
friend  a  moment  before  he  was  released  from 
sleep's  chain  enough  to  comprehend  anything. 

"  Oh,  it's  you,  Joe,  is  it  ?  "  he  exclaimed ; 
"  well,  I  am  sleepy  this  morning  !  "  and  upon 
that  he  yawned  so  prodigiously  that  he  could 
say  no  more.  At  last :  — 

"  Well,  Fm  glad  to  see  you,  anyhow,  Joe ! 
Why,  how  did  you  find  your  .way  up  ?  " 

"  The  woman  in  the  kitchen  showed  me," 
said  Joe. 

"Cook?  —  Ellen?  —  well,  it  was  good  of 
her,  anyhow !  I  wouldn't  have  believed  she 
would  have  done  me  such  a  good  turn.  Now 
sit  down,  Joe,  for  I'm  in  no  hurry  to  get  up. 
I  want  to  talk  about  the  —  the  —  you  know  !  " 
and  putting  his  hand  under  the  pillow  next  hia 
head,  drew  out  the  wonderful  thing  of  beauty. 


122  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

"  O-h-h-h !  "  exclaimed  Joe,  with  dazzled 
eyes,  "I  didn't  know  it  was  so  beautiful." 

Harry  placed  it  on  the  little  stand  by  the 
head  of  the  bed,  where  the  sunbeams  fell 
straight  across  it.  Its  burnished  sides  fairly 
blazed,  and  lit  every  fragment  of  the  wonder- 
ful work.  Around  the  sides  was  twined  a 
rough-stemmed  vine  with  fritted  bark,  — its 
roughness  and  thorniness  relieved  by  graceful 
leaves  with  clinging  tendrils.  And  running  in 
a  wavy  pattern  under  vine  and  leaf,  was  the 
wonderful  arabesque  of  frost-work,  —  precisely 
like  the  frost-spangles  which  he  had  seen 
upon  stone  and  fence  that  very  morning,  Joe 
thought,  —  which  sparkled  so  marvelously  in 
the  sunbeams.  Oh,  what  a  thing  of  beauty ! 
and  what  wonders  it  would  buy ! 

"Well,"  said  Harry,  when  both  had  ad- 
mired it  sometime  in  almost  breathless  silenco, 
"  it  is  beautiful,  and  no  mistake  !  Papa  hasn't 


JOE  AND  HARRY  ADMIRING  THE  CUP.    Page  122, 


YIELDING   TO   TEMPTATION.  LZO 

anything  amongst  all  his  silver  things  cue-half 
so  nice  !  —  no,  not  one  quarter." 

Joe  said  not  one  word,  but  sat  silently 
gazing  upon  his  treasure,  while  down  deep  in 
his  heart  there  was  the  same  fierce  struggle 
of  the  previous  night  going  on.  He  felt  —  he 
knew  what  a  wretched  contrast  he  made,  with 
his  rags  and  seediness,  to  the  luxury  around 
him.  He  longed,  oh !  so  much  !  for  just  a 
taste  of  comfort  and  neatness  ;  for  books  ;  for 
something  to  eat ;  but  most  of  all  for  school. 
Only  one  more  day,  and  then  —  Here  Harry 
interrupted  with,  "  Well,  Joe,  I  suppose  you're 
going  to  decide  about  this,  aren't  you  ?  —  and 
this  morning,  too." 

"  Yes,"  said  Joe,  with  the  warm  color  com- 
ing and  going  in  his  cheeks,  "  I'm  going  to 
decide  about  it  this  morning." 

"  Are  you  really  ?  "  said  Harry  ;  "  well,  I'm 
glad  of  it !  Now  which  are  you  going  to  do  : 
keep  it,  or  not  ?  " 


124  ME.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

Joe  wavered  a  moment,  looked  pleadingly 
into  his  friend's  face  as  if  for  an  encouraging 
word,  then  said  — 

"  1  will  keep  it." 

Well,  the  Tempter  conquered  that  time,  as 
he  has  before  done  so  many,  many  times. 
But,  before  you  judge  Joe  too  harshly,  remem- 
ber his  temptations !  Ah,  boys,  what  one  of 
you,  being  in  his  place  —  ragged,  hungry,  de- 
spised and  abused,  and  at  the  point  of  being 
taken  from  the  school  which  you  loved  so 
intensely  —  would  have  had  the  courage  to 
restored  the  treasure,  lived  on  the  same  dreary 
life,  when  it  was  in  your  power  to  change  all 
this  to  luxury  and  plenty  ? 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

A    HEAVY    HEART. 

ARRY  sprang  out  of  bed,  and  put 
both  his  arms  around  his  friend's 
neck.  "  0  you  dear  Joe  !  "  said  he, 
"  now  we  can  go  together  to  school, 
and  you'll  not  lose  your  place  in  the  class. 
And  you  can  have  new  clothes,  and  boots  and 
books,  and  plenty  to  eat !  O,  Joe,  what  good 
fortune  I "  and  thought  not  at  all  of  the  sin 
of  tempting  one's  friend. 

But  the  other  did.  He  did  not  look  joyful 
or  merry  in  the  least,  nor  did  he  return  his 
friend's  caress.  At  which  Harry's  face  grew 
sober  very  suddenly,  and  he  exclaimed  — 

125 


126  MR.  PEXDLETCXN'S  CUP. 

"  Good  gracious  !  you  look  as  grave  as  an 
owl.  Why,  what  makes  you  ?  " 

"  Am  I  sober  ?  "  asked  Joe,  with  a  wretched 
laugh ;  "  well,  I  don't  want  my  head  turned  at 
the  sight  of  so  much  money  —  or  what  will 
soon  be  money.  I'm  not  used  to  it,  you 
know." 

"I  know,''  said  Harry,  reflectively,  "but 
you  do  look  most  dreadful  dismal.  Why,  are 
you  sorry  you  decided  to  keep  it  ?  " 

"No-no,"  said  Joe,  resolutely;  "I'm  going 
to  keep  it.  I'm  going  to  school,  and  I'm  going 
to  have  books  and  everything  nice.  How 
much  shall  I  lend  you  till  next  quarter  ?  "  he 
added  with  a  laugh. 

"  Not  a  penny !  "  said  Harry,  looking  at  his 
friend  to  see  whether  he  were  really  pleased, 
or  whether  it  was  all  a  pretext  to  hide  the 
heart-ache ;  "  you'll  need  every  cent  of  it, 
Joe.  But  where  will  you  sell  it  ?  " 

"  Oh,    there's   places   enough,    I    suppose," 


A    HEAVY    HEAET.  127 

said  Joe,  indifferently ;  "  I'll  sell  it  where  they 
will  give  me  most.  Why,"  he  exclaimed  sud- 
denly, "how  Jumper  would  stare  to  see  me 
with  a  decent  suit  of  clothes  on  !  —  and  how 
Mrs.  Jumper  would  throw  up  her  hands  ! " 
and  at  the  thought  Joe  laughed  —  rather  hy- 
sterically. 

"Don't!"  said  Harry,  "you  laugh  so  dis- 
mally!  I  never —  " 

The  sharp  peal  of  a  bell  cut  him  short. 
Joe  started  up  trembling,  at  which  his  friend 
laughed,  and  said  — 

"  It's  only  the  breakfast  bell,  and  my  stars, 
Joe  !  I'm  not  half-dressed.  What  will  mamma 
say?" 

Joe  was  gazing  steadfastly  on  the  cup. 
Somehow  it  didn't  seem  so  beautiful  to  him 
after  he  had  really  decided  to  make  it  his  own. 

"Now,"  said  Harry,  as  he  hurried  on  his 
clothes,  "  when  will  you  .sell  it  ?  That's  the 
next  thing  to  do."  Joe  made  no  reply.  "For 


123  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

you  see,"  he  continued,  "  you  want  the  money 
pretty  soon  to  pay  your  school-bill.  You're 
out  to-monrow,  you  know." 

"  Yes,"  said  Joe,  abstractedly. 

"  But  there  isn't  time  this  morning,  for  it 
must  be  school-time  already.  So  you'll  have 
to  wait.  But  how  would  to-morrow  morning, 
do?" 

"  Well  enough,"  said  Joe  ;  "  are  you  going 
with  me  ?  " 

"  Yes,  if  you  want  me  to.  Perhaps  if  you 
tried  to  sell  it  they  might  take  you  for  a  -  a  — " 

"  Thief!  "  said  Joe,  with  red  cheeks ;  "  yes, 
I  know !  I'd  rather  you'd  sell  it.  I  don't 
believe  I  could  do  it." 

"  Well,"  said  Harry,  as  he  donned  his  nice 
jacket,  —  "  when  we've  got  the  money,  you'll 
pay  the  school-bill  first,  I  suppose  ;  then  you'll 
want  new  clothes,  and  then  —  oh,  Joe,  where 
is  the  hair-brush  ?  I'm  dreadful  late  for  break- 
fast this  morning! — and  then,  as  I  was  saying, 


A    HEAVY    HEART.  129 

—  why,  here  'tis  under  my  coat,  —  and  then, 
as  I've  been  trying  to  say  two  or  three  times, 
you'll  want  books ;  and  by  that  time  there'll  be 
a  great  hole  in  the  money." 

"  Yes,"  said  Joe  dubiously,  "  it  can't  last 
always."  * 

"  But  perhaps  you'll  find  another  by  that 
time,"  laughed  Harry,  busy  before  the  glass. 

"  Oh,  no !  I  hope  not !  "  cried  Joe  suddenly ; 
"  I  don't  want  them  !  I  wish  I'd  never  seen 
this." 

Harry  said  "  Pshaw  ! "  and  looked  at  his 
friend's  unhappy  face  in  the  glass. 

"  He's  getting  alarmed  and  nervous,"  he  said 
to  himself,  then  aloud :  — 

"  I'm  going  down  now,  Joe.  Will  you  stay 
here  till  I'm  through  breakfast  ?  " 

Joe  looked  at  his  rags  and  hesitated. 

"  What  will  they  say  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Who  ?  O,  mamma  won't  say  a  word ! 
I'll  be  back  in  fifteen  minutes,  and  then  we'lJ 


130  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

start  for  school.  Tumble  over  the  books,  or 
anything  that  pleases  you,"  and  Harry  ran  off 
down  stairs. 

Joe  lingered  in  his  chair  till  his  friend's  foot- 

• 

steps  quite  died  away,  and  then  walked  to  the 
tempting  pile  of  books  which  lay  —  some  on 
the  floor  and  some  on  the  rack.  Drawing  a 
long  sigh,  he  sat  down  by  the  pile  on  the  floor. 
What  could  there  be  for  Joe  Gray  to  sigh 
about  ?  Was  he  not  presently  to  be  well-fed, 
well-clothed,  and  well-schooled  ?  Listlessly  he 
turned  over  volume  after  volume,  to  find  that 
they  had  lost  their  accustomed  interest  for  him. 
What  could  be  the  reason?  "I'm  dreadful 
stupid  this  morning  !  "  thought  he  to  himself; 
"  I  can't  read  a  word  in  these  books  that  I've 
been  longing  to  see.  Oh  I  what  a  fortunate 
fellow  Harry  is  !  —  to  have  all  these  books  on 
one  birthday,  besides  the  pony.  And  see  the 
leaves  he  hasn't  cut !  Oh,  I  don't  believe  he's 
read  one  of  these  yet."  With  this,  his  eyes 


A    HEAVY    HEART.  131 

left  the  books,  and  wandered  about  the  pretty, 
sui.shiny  room.  "  Not  much  like  mine  !  "  said 
he  to  himself,  as  he  looked  at  pictures  and 
ornaments,  and  articles  of  clothing  lying  about. 
"  Why,  Harry  must  have  a  jacket  for  every 
day  in  the  week,  and  one  of  those  pictures  — — 
even  the  smallest — would  buy  me  a  suit  of 
clothes."  "  But  you've  presently  to  have 
enough  of  everything  ;  "  said  something  within 
him.  At  this,  he  turned  back  to  the  books 
with  the  same  weary  sigh.  Above  him,  on  the 
little  stand,  stood  the  cup,  and  as  it  spangled 
and  gleamed  in  the  sunbeams,  a  dazzling  ray 
smote  his  eyes  now  and  then.  This  glitter  did 
not  look  half  so  lovely  as  it  had  done,  and  he 
exclaimed  impatiently  — "  O,  I  wish  Harry 
would  come  and  put  that  hateful  thing  out  of 
sight !  It  dazzles  me  and  puts  my  eyes  out ! 
And  I  really  believe  I  wish  it  had  never  been 
found  after  all.'* 

But  Harry  was  gone  at  least  half-an-hour  in- 


182  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

stead  of  fifteen  minutss.  It  must  have  been 
nearly  nine  o'clock  when  Joe  heard  him  come 
slowly  up  stairs  whistling  —  "  The  Gem  of  the 
Ocean.''  At  the  top  of  the  stairs  he  quickened 
his  pace,  and  came  bounding  into  the  room 
with :  — 

"I  say,  Joe,  but  you've  had  to  wait  a  long 
time,  haven't  you  ?  And,  if  you'll  believe  me, 
it's  nine  o'clock  already,  and  time  for  the 
school-bell  to  ring  !  We've  got  to  hurry." 

Joe  got  up  from  his  seat  on  the  floor. 

"  How  did  you  like  my  books  ?  Isn't  there 
a  pile  of  'em  ?  Come,  fly  around,  Joe  1 
Where's  my  overcoat?  ''  rattled  Harry;  "  and 
what  are  you  going  to  do  with  the  cup  this 
morning?  " 

"  Leave  it  with  you,"  said  Joe  soberly,  "  if 
you'll  keep  it.  I  haven't  a  place  to  put  it,  you 
know." 

"  Well,  just  as  you  say.  Let  me  see,  — 
where  can  I  hide  it  ?  Ellen  will  be  sweeping 


A    HEAVY    HEART.  133 

and  rummaging  about  up  here  to-day,  and  if 
she  should  find  it,  —  well,  we  should  lose  it,  I 
suppose  !  But  I  know  a  safe  place,  Joe,  where 
Ellen  nor  mamma  never  look.  Here  'tis,  right 
in  this  drawer  —  my  drawer  —  and  I've  got  the 
key  to  it.  Bring  on  the  cnp,  and  put  it  in 
here." 

Joe  complied,  and  Harry  locked  the  drawer 
and  put  the  key  in  his  pocket. 

"  Now  't  will  be  as  safe,"  said  he, "  as  though 
;t  was  in  a  bank- vault.  But  we  must  hurry  off 
to  school !  Help  me  on  with  this  overcoat, 
will  you,  Joe  ?  there's  a  good  fellow."  Then 
they  were  ready. 

"  Now  come  on  !  "  cried  Harry,  and  led  the 
way  down,  along  the  hall,  out  into  the  kitchen, 
and  from  there  they  speedily  ran  out  on  to  the 
walk. 

"  Let's  walk  fast,  Joe,"  said  his  friend,  aa 
they  passed  around  the  house ;  "  we'll  have 
tardy  marks,  already,  I  guess." 


184  MR.    PENDLETOX'S    CTjP. 

Joe  said  hardly  a  word  during  all  the  long 
walk,  and  Harry  whistled  to  his  heart's  content, 
without  any  interruption. 

Arrived  at  school,  they  found  it  had  been 
commenced  five  minutes.  "  Tardy  marks 
against  both  of  you,"  said  the  teacher,  as  they 
entered,  "  unless  you've  brought  an  excuse." 

"  We  haven't,"  said  Harry  ;  u  it's  our  own 
fault." 

Now,  though  this  little  circumstance  had 
happened  to  Joe  more  than  once  before,  yet 
this  morning  it  depressed  his  spirits  very  much. 
He  went  to  his  seat,  took  out  his  books,  and 
found  that  he  could  not  study  any  more  than 
he  could  read  in  Harry's  books  a  half-hour  be- 
fore. What  could  be  the  reason,  think  you  ? 
Listlessly  he  turned  over  leaf  after  leaf,  his 
heart  growing  more  and  more  miserable  every 
minute.  He  looked  through  the  window  be- 
hind him  upon  the  fair,  blue  sky.  Soft 
rounded  clouds  had  risen,  and  were  floating 


A    HEAVY    HEART.  loO 

brightly  everywhere  ;  but  sunshine  nor  clouds, 
nor  fair  blue  sky  pleased  him  at  all.  He 
looked  across  to  the  seat  where  his  friend  sat. 
Harry's  brow  was  drawn  up  into  a  number  of 
wrinkles,  over  a  sum  in  his  arithmetic,  but  that 
appeared  to  be  the  greatest  of  his  troubles,  for 
when  he  chanced  to  look  up*  and  meet  Joe's 
heavy  eyes,  he  smiled  very  brightly.  "  I  be- 
lieve he  would  laugh,"  said  Joe  to  himself,  "  if 
everything  went  to  destruction ! "  and  his 
friend's  cheerfulness  only  made  his  own  heart 
more  heavy.  By-and  by  his  class  was  called 
upon  the  floor,  and  to  everybody's  surprise, 
poor  Joe  failed  most  miserably. 

"  Joseph,"  said  the  teacher  kindly,  "  are 
you  ill  ?  "  Something  in  the  boy's  thin  face 
touched  him.  "  He  doesn't  look  as  if  he  had 
enough  to  eat,"  said  he  to  himself,  "  and  a  boy 
that  don't  eat  can't  study." 

44  No.  sir ;  I'm  not  ill,"  said  Joe,  in  much 


1-36  MR.    PENDLETOX'S    CUP. 

confusion,  "but  I  — I— I  couldn't  study  tins 
morning." 

"  Very  well,"  said  the  teacher,  "  I'll  excuse 
you  this  morning,  J.oseph.  You  may  take 
your  seat." 

And  Joe  took  his  seat  and  hid  his  face. 
Don't  you  think.it  was  strange  conduct  for  a 
boy  who,  ere  another  day  had  fled,  was  to  be 
in  possession  of  quite  a  little  fortune  ?  —  who 
was  to  have  that  which  his  heart  desired 
most? 

Joe's  teacher  was  somewhat  surprised,  be- 
cause the  boy  was  one  of  the  most  studious 
and  faithful  in  his  class,  and  nothing  short  of 
illness,  he  thought,  could  have  made  his  lesson 
such  a  failure  ;  so  he  granted  him  an  indul- 
gence which  he  would  not  have  given  to  any 
of  those  well-fed,  smartly-dressed  boys  before 
him.  Presently  Joe  raised  his  head  from  the 
4esk  and  took  up  his  Philosophy. 


A    HEAVY    HEART.  1ST 

u  I'll  be  perfect  on  this,  anyhow,"  said  he  to 
himself;  "I  won't  get  excused  on  another 
lesson ! " 

And  putting  his  hands  over  his  ears  to  shut 
out  all  sounds,  he  tried  to  bring  his  thoughts 
upon  the  day's  lesson.  But  do  all  he  would, 
they  persisted  in  running  upon  another  subject, 
—  and  that  was  the  cup  ! 

"  Cup  !  cup !  cup  !  cup  !  CUP  !  CUP  !  "  cried 
poor  Joe  to  himself,  —  u  nothing  but  cup  !  O, 
I  wish  I  had  never  found  it !  I  wish  it  were 
in  the  sea  !  I  wish  it's  owner  had  it !  " 

"  But,  my  dear  Joe,"  said  something  within 
him,  "  bear  up  and  be  a  man,  for  you're  pres- 
ently to  be  rich  !  " 

And  then  he  shivered  and  stopped  his  ears 
tighter,  and  essayed  to  study  his  lesson.  Such 
heaviness  of  heart  the  boy  had  never  known, 
and  he  was  troubled  and  fearful  beside.  He 
fancied  —  and  it  was  nothing  but  fancy  —  that 
his  teacher  regarded  him  suspiciously.  "  Can 


138  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

he  have  found  out  ?  —  can  he  know  about  the 
cup  ?  "  he  fearfully  asked  himself,  —  then 
laughed  at  his  own  fears  the  next  minute.  At 
play^spell  he  fancied  that  the  boys  regarded 
him  with  suspicious  eyes,  and  cold  glances : 
and  that  the  knot  who  had  gathered  in  the 
sunny  angle  of  the  building  were  whispering 
about  him. 

All  these  sensations  were  new  to  Joe,  for 
until  this  time  he  had  always  carried  an  honest 
heart  under  his  ragged  jacket.  Come  cold  or 
hunger  or  sneers,  his  heart  had  always  been 
light  and  free  from  the  burden  of  wrong-doing, 
and  he  had  no  one  to  fear.  But  now  !  —  oh, 
how  his  heart  ached  with  the  dreadful  weight 
which  lay  upon  it !  He  trembled  at  the  sound 
of  a  strange  voice,  he  was  fearful  when  his 
comrades  whispered,  and  he  could  not  meet 
his  teacher's  eyes.  He  suddenly  found  what 
bitterness  there  was  in  a  guilty  conscience, 
and  learned  how  much  harder  the  burden  of 


A    HEAVY    HEART.  130 

evil-doing  was  to  carry,  than  the  burden  of 
want  and  poverty. 

Well,  this  wretched  and  miserable  day  wore 
away  very  slowly.  To  Joe  it  seemed  twice  as 
long  as  school-days  generally  were,  and  when 
night  came,  he  drew  a  great  sigh  of  relief,  and 
was  happy  enough  when  the  word  was  given 
to  pile  the  books  away.  He  rushed  out  into 
the  fresh  air,  which  fanned  his  hot  forehead 
gratefully,  and  walked  silently  with  Harry 
towards  home.  The  merchant's  son  was  un- 
usually silent,  too,  and  did  not  whistle  a  single 
tune  as  they  went  down  the  street.  Joe 
fancied  that  his  forehead  was  drawn  up  with  a 
wrinkle  of  trouble,  —  but  then,  Joe's  fancies 
had  not  been  at  all  reliable  that  day. 

As  they  neared  the  stone  cottage,  Harry  laid 
his  hand  on  his  friend's  shoulder,  and  said  com- 
passionately :  — 

"  I'm  sorry  for  you,  Joe  ! " 

Joe's  chin  quivered,  and  l~e  turned  away  his 


140  MR.    PENDLETOX'S    CUP. 

head.  He  was  not  at  all  able  to  bear  pity  just 
then. 

"  You're  as  miserable  as  you  can  be,  aren't 
you  ?  "  continued  Harry ;  "  now  what  is  the 
matter  ?  " 

"  Matter  ! "  cried  Joe,  chokingly,  "  O, 
everything!  " 

Harry's  arm  went  around  his  friend. 

"  Don't  be  so  blue  !  "  said  he  comfortingly ; 
"  wh}  you  never  felt  like  this  when  you 
thought  you  had  got  to  leave  school !  —  not 
half  so  bad.  And  now  —  why,  Joe,  I  can't 
understand  it ! " 

Joe  said  not  a  word,  but  his  chin  continued 
to  quiver.  He  could  not  control  his  tongue. 
The  two  walked  on  in  silence  till  they  reached 
the  gate. 

i4  Oh,  dear,"  said  Harry.  "  I  can't  bear  to 
have  you  go  home  feeling  like  this.  I  shall  be 
thinking  how  sad  you  looked  all  the  evening. 
Come,  Joe,  brighten  up  !  "  he  exclaimed,  fain 


A    HEAVY    HEART.  141 

to  be  very  comforting  ;  "  remember  to-morrow 
morning.  Good-night,"  and  they  parted. 

"  Remember  to-morrow  morning  !  "  rang  in 
Joe's  ears  like  bells.  He  walked  down  the 
street  very  sadly  and  slowly,  and  not  at  all  like 
a  boy  who  was  to  receive  a  large  sum  of 
money  on  the  morrow.  Why,  what  could  be 
the  reason  ?  He  was  punctual  at  the  supper- 
table  that  night,  and  succeeded  in  getting  his 
scanty  allowance  of  food.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Jumper  were^  quite  amiable,  and  made  no 
objections  to  his  sitting  by  the  stove.  But  for 
all  that  he  went  to  bed  very  early,  preferring 
the  cold  and  solitude  of  the  garret  to  the  dis- 
tracting noise  of  the  little  Jumpers  as  they 
rode  to  "  Banbury  Cross "  on  their  father's 
knees. 

When  he  had  finally  succeeded  in  getting 
warm  under  the  old  coverlet  he  chanced  to 
look  up,  and  there  was  the  countless,  calm- 
eyed  stars  looking  in  upon  him !  Oh,  how 


142  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

pure  and  holy  they  looked !  —  and  peering 
into  his  eyes  they  seemed  to  whisper  — 

"  Thief  I  thief  I  thief  I " 

"  Oh,  I  can  never  look  at  them  any  more  !  " 
sobbed  Joe,  and  made  haste  to  hide  his  face 
from  those  unwavering,  accusing  eyes. 

But  I  suppose  that  this  was  only  one  of 
Joe's  "  fancies  "  after  all,  and  that  the  stars 
looked  upon  him  with  no  sterner  glances  than 
they  had  ever  done. 

What  could  be  the  matter  of  him  ? 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  TEMPTER  IS  VANQUISHED. 

^EANWHILE,  Mr.  Pendleton  gave 
up  his  cup  as  gone  forever.  In  vain 
his  friend  told  him  that  as  the  re- 
ward had  only  been  out  one  day,  it 
was  useless  to  look  for  the  return  of  the  treasure 
so  soon.  The  old  gentleman  shook  his  head, 
and  said  — "I've  no  faith!  —  no  faith!  It's 
gone,  and  we  shall  never  see  it  any  more.  Oh, 
how  could  I  have  been  so  careless  ?  "  As  this 
was  nearly  the  thousandth  time  which  the  old 
man  had  asked  this  question,  Mr.  Harvey 
thought  it  quite  unnecessary  to  answer  it. 
"  Why,  sir,"  said  he,  "  it  will  be  nothing 
143 


144  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

strange  if  the  cup  don't  make  its  appearance 
in  a  month.  The  news  of  the  reward  must  be 
circulated  among  all  classes  of  people,  and  even 
then  it  may  be  a  long  time  before  it  reaches 
the  ears  of  the  guilty  one.  Then  he  may  take 
time  to  consider  the  subject,  whoever  he  is,  and 
deliberate  whether  he  can  make  most  by  keep- 
ing the  cup,  or  by  returning  it,  and  claiming 
the  reward.  Or,  the  offer  may  not  be  suffi- 
ciently tempting,  and  we  may  have  to  offer  a 

larger.     Why,  sir,  when  all  things  are  thought 

of,  I  wonder  at  your  being  discouraged !  " 
But  the  old  gentleman  shook  his  head  in- 

creduously. 

"  It's  gone  !  it's  gone  !  "  said  he,  shaking  his 

finger  solemnly,  "  and  look  as  long  as  you  like, 

you'll  never  find  it !  " 

"  Of  course,"   said  his  friend,   "  we're   not 

certain  of  the  fact,  but  I'm  tolerably  confident 

that  it  will  yet  make  its  appearance  from  some 

quarter.     So  cheer  up !  " 


THE   TEMPTER   IS    VANQUISHED.        145 

But  Mr.  Pendleton  refused  to  be  comforted. 

"  Ah,"  said  he,  mournfully,  "  to  think  of  the 
time  I've  wasted  !  Two  whole  days,  and  each 
of  them  seem  like  weeks.  Why,  I  should  have 
got  my  Tacigraphon  read  through  by  this  time, 
and  the  notes  all  written  out  if  I'd  staid  at 
home." 

"  Your  what? "  cried  his  friend. 

"  Why,  my  Tacigraphon,  —  my  last  old 
book !  It's  just  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven 
years  and  seven  months  old,  the  first  day  of 
this  very  month.  I  should  have  had  it  finished 
by  this  time,  with  notes  !  " 

"  Never  mind,"  said  Mr.  Harvey,  consol- 
ingly, "  two  days  isn't  much.  We'll  go  down 
to  the  Historical  Cabinet  to-night,  and  mayhap 
you'll  see  something  there  which  will  pay  you 
for  the  trouble  you've  had.  What  do  you  say, 
sir  ?  " 

Mr.  Pendleton  agreed  to  this  proposition, 
and  spent  the  evening  in  a  tolerably  comfortably 


146  MR.  PESDLEION'S  CUP. 

manner  at  the  Historical  rooms.  He  met  with 
several  ancient  gentlemen  of  his  own  persua- 
sion, who  consoled  with  him  upon  the  severe 
misfortune  which  he  had  sustained,  and  prom- 
ised to  use  all  their  time  and  influence  for  the 
recovery  of  the  precious  cup  —  whose  loss,  as 
they  said,  would  be  such  a  heavy  one  to  their 
science.  From  this  meeting  he  went  home 
somewhat  encouraged,  but  no  sooner  had  he 
entered  the  house  than  he  announced  his  in- 
tention of  going  home  on  the  morrow. 

"  What,"  said  Mr.  Harvey  in  surprise,  "and 
not  wait  for  your  cup  ?  " 

The  old  gentleman  shook  his  head.  He  was 
getting  both  fatigued  and  home-sick.  He 
longed  'for  the  quiet  of  his  dim  and  dusty 
rooms.  Old  Kate  could  cook  and  bake  better, 
he  thought,  than  all  the  city-cooks  put  to- 
gether. When  had  Mr.  Pendleton  ?ared  for 
cooking  before  ?  And,  moreover,  the  bustle 
and  roar  of  the  busy  streets  troubled  him,  and 


THE   TEMPTER    IS    VANQUISHED.  147 

he  had  heard  so  many  strange  voices  and  seen 
so  many  new  faces  that  his  poor  head  waa 
quite  turned.  Darnleigh  was  peaceful  and 
quiet,  —  at  least  the  street  was  where  he  lived, 
and  there  had  never  been  anything  to  disturb 
him  there,  nor  put  his  thoughts  into  such  a 
turmoil. 

"  Oh,"  said  the  old  gentleman,  in  the  child- 
ish manner  which  sometimes  came  across  him, 
—  "I'm  tired,  and  want  to  go  home.  It's  still 
there.  And  now  I  think  of  it,  the  doves  will 
miss  me.  They'll  be  hungry  and  Kate  won't 
think  to  feed  them  !  I  forgot  to  tell  her  about 
it.  I  want  to  go  home,  —  I  must  go  home  in 
the  morning." 

"  Poor  man  I  "  said  Mr.  Harvey  to  himself, 
"  I  really  believe  he  is  a  trifle  crazed,  or  else 
he's  getting  into  second  childhood.  I  never 
saw  him  act  so  before,  I'm  sure."  Then  aloud 
— "  Well,  if  you  wish  to  go  so  bad  you  can 
taKO  the  morning  train.  It  will  bring  you  t<? 


U8  MR.    PEXDLETOX'S   CUP. 

Darnleigh  in  the  afternoon.  Cheer  up,  sir, 
ind  I'll  attend  to  looking  up  the  cup,  —  there'll 
be  no  trouble  about  that ;  but  I'm  sorry  you 
can't  content  yourself  a  little  longer,  for  there's 
no  knowing  how  soon  the  cup  will  make  its 
appearance.  It  may  come  to  light  directly 
after  you  are  gone." 

But  our  antiquary  was  perfectly  indifferent. 
The  only  object  which  he  had  now  in  view 
was  to  make  his  way  home  as  speedily  as  pos- 
sible. He  would  have  left  this  disgusting 
Waynethorpe  that  very  night  could  he  have 
procured  a  conveyance. 

Mr.  Harvey  saw  his  tired  old  friend  to  bed, 
and  promised  to  awake  him  in  time  to  eat  his 
breakfast,  and  reach  the  early  morning-train. 
He  secretly  hoped  that  the  old  gentleman 
would  get  rested  by  sleep,  and  awake  refreshed 
and  stronger  of  mind.  He  hoped  that  he 
could  persuade  him  to  remain  a  day  longer. 
But  on  going  up  to  the  old  man's  room  in  the 


THE    TEMPTER    IS    VANQUISHED.  149 

morning,  he  found  him  not  only  awake  but 
nearly  dressed  for  the  journey.  He  would  not 
listen  to  a  word  of  persuasion,  but  hurriedly 
finished  his  toilet,  and  could  hardly  be  induced 
to  drink  a  cup  of  coffee  and  eat  a  mouthful  of 
toast,  for  fear  that  he  should  be  too  late  for  the 
train. 

After  he  had  been  coaxed  to  partake  of  a 
few  morsels,  Mr.  Harvey  called  a  cab,  and 
they  drove  to  the  depot.  They  were  not  a 
moment  too  early  after  all,  and  in  a  few  min- 
utes Mr.  Pendleton  —  black  valise  and  all  — 
rolled  off  toward  Darnleigh.  The  old  gentle- 
man actually  smiled  as  he  bade  his  friend  good- 
by,  —  he  was  so  happy  at  the  prospect  of  being 
home  in  the  course  of  the  day. 

Now  in  this  same  early  morning-time  — 
when  the  sun-light  was  just  breaking  upon  the 
city,  and  Mr.  Pendleton  was  speeding  home- 
ward —  Joe  Gray  awoke  to  the  consciousness 
of  his  troubles.  "  Remember  to-morrow 


150  MR.  PENDLETQN'S  CUP. 

morning  !  "  was  the  first  thought  that  flashed 
into  his  mind  as  soon  as  he  was  conscious  of 
the  dawn  of  day.  "  Oh,  dear,"  said  he  dis- 
mally, "  I  wish  it  wasn't  morning  yet.  Oh 
dear !  "  A  sound  of  hissing  and  sputtering 
came  up  from  Mrs.  Jumper's  frying-pan,  and 
told  him  that  it  would  soon  be  breakfast-time. 
"  And  Harry  wanted  me  to  come  up  bright 
and  early  this  morning,"  thought  he,  "  to-to — " 
"  Joe,  get  up ! "  cried  Mrs.  Jumper  shortly, 
cutting  off  Joe's  thoughts.  He  sprang  out  of 
bed,  dressed  hurriedly,  and  then  walked  to  the 
little  window.  Somewhere  behind  the  long 
dark  line  of  houses  the  sun  was  burning  redly, 
but  belts  of  gray  clouds  hid  the  rosy  flush  in 
the  sky,  save  where  —  here  and  there  —  the 
crimson  broke  through  in  little  patches.  The 
smoke  from  thousands  of  chimnies  hung  in 
sombre  curtains  in  mid-air.  Far  away  at  the 
farther  edge  of  the  city,  he  saw  a  long  trail  of 
snow-white  smoke,  and  heard  the  whistle  of  the 


THE    TEMPTER    IS    VANQUISHED.         1<31 

outward-bound  train.  Little  thought  he  that 
it  carried  one  whose  mercy  was  presently  to 
shield  him  from  a  dread  punishment.  And  as 
he  stood  here  he  heard  the  little  Junipers  race 
out  to  breakfast,  and  made  haste  to  obey  the 
lady's  call  to  breakfast  himself. 

He  was  so  abstracted  and  absentrminded  at 
this  meal  that  Mrs.  J.  remarked  sharply  — 

"  You  needn't  mope  so  'cause  you've  got  to 
leave  school,  Joe  Gray  !  Why,  a  boy  with  the 
learnin'  you've  got  ought  to  be  satisfied.  Just 
think !  my  Jumper  never  went  to  school  but 
six  months  in  his  life.  What  ye  think  of  that  ? 
and  he's  always  got  along  well  ^enough.  Now 
see't  you  don't  forget  to  bring  home  your 
books  to-night,  'cause  if  you  do  Jumper  '11  send 
you  right  back  after  'em.  We  don't  believe  in 
forgettlrf  sir."  Mrs.  J.  spoke  as  if  she  thought 
that  Joe  secretly  intended  to  leave  his  books, 
and  so  have  a  pretext  for  going  back  to  school 
on  Monday  morning.  And  as  he  was  going  out 


152  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

the  door  she  cried  after  him  —  "  Remember ' 
don't  you  go  to  forgettin\  sir !  "  The  hoy's 
heart  was  quite  as  wretched  this  morning  as  it 
had  been  the  previous  night.  He  certainly 
made  no  haste  to  reach  Harry's  in  good  season, 
but  walked  slowly  and  listlessly  along.  Per- 
haps he  wished  to  be  so  tardy  as  to  prevent  the 
sale  of  the  cup  that  morning.  Whatever  his 
ntentions  may  have  been,  he  was  a  long  while 
»n  traversing  the  streets,  and  when  he  at  last 
reached  Harry's  gate,  he  lingered  a  long  time 
there,  dreading  to  enter.  But  though  he 
whistled  and  called,  his  friend  did  not  appear, 
and  he  was  obliged  to  go  up  the  walk  and 
around  the  house  as  he  had  done  the  previous 
morning.  Again  Ellen  answered  his  rap,  but 
this  time  her  face  was  not  so  grim. 

"  Well,  you're  here  again,  are  you  ?  "  said 
she  ;  "  what  did  I  tell  you  I'd  do  if  you  came 
here  again  ?  "  Joe  was  too  miserable  to  make 
much  of  a  reply.  "  You'-re  the  greatest  bothei 


THE    TEMPTER   IS    VANQUISHED.  153 

in  the  morning !  —  when  one  is  busiest,"  said 
she,  but  let  him  in  nevertheless. 

Ellen  had  evidently  had  a  word  in  Joe's 
favor  whispered  in  her  ear.  Through  the 
same  rooms  she  led  him  as  in  the  previous 
morning,  and  left  him  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs 
with  — 

"  Get  up  with  you,  and  stay  as  long  as  you 
like !  " 

Joe  slowly  mounted  the  stairs,  feeling  much 
as  a  criminal  does  who  is  going  to  execution. 
He  pushed  open  the  chamber-door  without 
waiting  to  rap,  and  found  his  friend  up  and 
partly  dressed. 

"  Ho  !  I  am  glad  to  see  you  this  time,  Joe  !  " 
cried  Harry,  very  cordially,  with  a  side  glance 
at  his  friend's  sad  face  ;  "  come  here  and  sit 
down  in  this  big  chair  beside  me." 

Joe  complied,  and  sat  down  opposite  his 
friend  who  was  pulling  on  his  boots  and 
stockings. 


154  MR.  PEXDLETON'S  CUP. 

"  I  declare  !  "  thought  Harry  to  himself,  "  I 
never  did  SBC  Joe  look  so  miserable !  Why,  1 
shouldn't  think  he  had  a  friend  in  the  world/' 

Joe  said  not  a  word,  —  not  even  u  good- 
morning." 

"  Well,"  said  Harry,  briskly,  stamping  on 
the  floor  to  settle  his  feet  in  his  boots,  "  I  sup- 
pose you've  come  on  business  this  time.  You 
are  going  to  sell  the  cup  this  morning,  aren't 
you  ?  " 

Joe's  chin  quivered,  he  looked  appealingly 
at  his  friend,  and  then  suddenly  burst  into 
tears.  The  falling  drops  did  not  merely  over- 
brim his  eyes,  but  they  came  in  a  wild,  sudden 
gust  which  made  him  tremble  from  head  to 
foot  as  he  sat  in  the  arm-chair.  All  his  pent- 
up  agony  found  vent  now,  and  rushed  forth 
with  a  passion  and  vehemence  which  fairly 
startled  Harry,  who  looked  at  his  friend  in 
amazement  and  distress.  He  was  at  a  loss  to 
know  what  had  produced  this  sudden  burst  of 


THE   TEMPTER    IS    VANQUISHED.  1O^) 

feeling.  At  length  he  ventured  to  say  softly 
—  "Joe!"  But  Joe  did  not  heed  but  con- 
tinued to  weep  most  passionately. 

*'  Joe  !  Joe  !  "  said  he  again,  u  what  is  the 
matter?" 

No  answer.  At  this  Harry  sat  down  on  the 
arm  of  the  chair  and  tried  to  pull  his  friend's 
hands  away  from  his  face. 

"  See  here  !  "  said  he,  earnestly,  "  what  are 
you  crying  about  ?  What  ails  you  ?  Come, 
tell  me,  Joe,"  coaxingly ;  "  did  I  say  some- 
thing that  troubled  you,  or  what  ?  " 

But  not  a  syllable  did  he  get  from  his  friend 
till  the  tears  had  ceased  to  fall.  Then  Joe 
said  faintly  —  "  Where's  the  cup  ?  " 

"  The  cup  ?  Why,  it's  in  my  drawer  to  be 
sure;  where  we  left  it  yesterday  morning. 
Did  you  think  it  was  lost  ?  My  stars,  Joe  !  1 
can't  make  nothing  out  of  you  this  morning  I 
Come,  shall  we  go  and  sell  it  ?  " 


156  MR.    PENDLETOX'S    CUP. 

Joe  looked  up  through  his  tears  with  such 
an  expression  that  Harry  suddenly  fell  back. 

u  I  shall  never  sell  that  cup,  Harry,"  said  he, 
very  slowly  and  very  firmly.  A  dead  silence, 
in  which  both  boys  could  hear  their  hearts  beat. 
Then  — 

"  Not  sell  the  cup  ?  "  fell  from  Harry's  lips. 

"  No,  —  never ;  not  if  I  starve  to  death,  nor 
never  go  to  school  another  hour !  " 

Deliverance !  —  the  Tempter  was  van- 
quished, and  Joe  free  from  his  clutches. 
Harry  stared  at  his  friend  as  if  he  thought  he 
had  lost  his  wits.  At  last  he  said  — 

"  Well,  if  I  ever  was  astonished,  I  am  now. 
Are  you  sure  you  know  what  you  are  talking 
about,  Joe  ?  " 

"  Yes !  " 

"  And  you  mean  that  you'll  give  up  thr  cup  ? 
Why,  what  changed  your  mind  so  suddenly  ?  " 

Joe  wiped  his  eyes  and  said  — 


THE  TEMPTER  IS  VANQUISHED.  157 

'If  you  had  been  as  miserable  as  I  havu  the 
vast  two  days  you  wouldn't  wonder  at  all ! 
The*  greatest  wonder  is  why  I  did  not  change 
my  mind  before.  <  Oh,  Harry,  you  can't  think 
how  miserable  I've  been  !  " 

"  You  did  look  miserable,"  said  Harry, 
"that's  a  fact!  —  and  was  it  all  about  that 
cup?" 

"  Yes,  rsvery  bit  of  it !  "  cried  Joe  brightly ; 
"  oh,  I  wonder  I  didn't  give  it  up  before ! 
Why,  I  wouldn't  keep  it  now  for  anything." 

But  just  here  the  Tempter  came  back  in  the 
shape  of  his  friend.  It  is  a  hard  thing  to  be 
tempted  by  the  one  nearest  and  dearest  to  us, 
but  Joe  had  it  to  endure. 

Harry  came  back  to  the  arm-chair  and  looked 
straight  in  his  friend's  face. 

"  Joe,"  said  he  sadly,  "  you  can't  go  to 
school  now." 

"  No,"  said  Joe,  bravely  trying  to  keep  up 
good  courage.  "  And,"  continued  the  tempter, 


158  MR.  PEXDLETON'S  CUP. 

"  you'll  have  to  be  ragged  and  cold  and  half- 
starved  ! " 

"  Oh,  Harry,"  cried  Joe  pleedingly,  "  don't 
talk  like  that !  You  make  me  want  to  keep  it." 

"  And,  besides  all  that,  Jumper  will  put  you 
to  work,  or  send  you  out  begging,  and  we  can't 
see  each  other  at  all !  Oh,  Joe  !  just  think  of 
,.it!" 

Joe  did  think  of  it,  and  found  it  hardest  of 
all  to  bear.  He  moved  about  uneasily  in  his 
chair,  and  could  not  endure  the  thought  of 
being  separated  from  his  friend.  But  suddenly 
his  courage  came  back,  and  he  got  up  • —  look- 
ing very  resolute  indeed. 

"  No  !  "  said  he  slowly,  "  I'll  never  sell  that 
cup  if  I'm  starved  and  have  to  beg  !  It  isn't 
mine,  and  I  should  be  a  thief  if  I  kept  it !  I 
knew  what  a  wicked  thing  I  was  doing  all  the 
time,  but  somehow  I  couldn't  make  up  my 
mind  to  do  right  about  it.  I  wanted  to  go  to 
school  so  bad,  and  I  was  so  hungry  that  night, 


THE    TEEPTER    IS    VANQUISHED.  159 

and  Jumper  and  his  wife  grumbled  so,  that  I 
thought  I  could  do  most  anything  to  get  rid  of 
them.  But  I  can't,  for  it  would  kill  me  to 
keep  that  miserable  cup.  I  don't  want  it  and 
I  won't  have  it,  and  oh,  you  mustn't  tempt  me 
BO,  Harry  !  " 

At  this  appeal,  Harry's  heart  —  always 
warm  —  was  touched. 

"  You're  right.  Joe ! "  said  he  frankly, 
"  though  I  never  should  have  had  the  courage 
to  told  you,  —  I  wanted  you  to  go  to  school  so 
bad.  O,  Joe,  I  did  tempt  you,  —  I've  tempted 
you  all  the  time.  Come,  now  forgive  me  old 
fellow  !  " 

At  which  Joe  put  his  arms  around  his  friend's 
neck,  and  said  that  there  was  nothing  at  all  to 
forgive,  and  that  he  was  so  glad  he  had  given 
up  the  cup,  and  that  he  was  the  happiest  boy 
in  the  world,  even  if  he  had  got  to  give  up  the 
school,  and  go  ragged  and  cold.  And  with 
that  the  Tempter  fled,  and  Joe  was  troubled 
by  him  no  more. 


CHAPTER  X. 

JOE'S    REWARD. 

|ELL,"  said  Harry,  after  this  declara- 
tion of  Joe's,  "  what  are  you  going 
vjs)    to  do  with  the  cup  ?     How  will  you 

find  the  owner,  I  mean." 
"  I'm  sure  I  don't  know.     It  must  be  some 
rich  man's  property.     I  should  think  he  would 
be  trying  to  look  it  up." 

"  We   shouldn't   know   it  if  he  was,"    said 
Harry. 

"  Oh,  dear,"  sighed  Joe,  "  I  hope  the  owner 
will  come  pretty  soon  !     I  can't  bear  to  keep 
it   a   moment   longer.      But   if   he   shouldn't 
come  —  " 
160 


JOE'S    REWARD.  161 

Dion  'twould  be  yours  till  he  did,"  said 
his  friend. 

But  this  prospect  of  ownership  did  not 
please  Joe  at  all.  He  was  anxious  to  get  rid 
of  the  dangerous  treasure.  There  was  no 
knowing  how  badly  he  might  bo  tempted  be- 
fore all  was  over.  Then  a  bright  idea  camo 
into  his  head. 

"  Why,  Harry,"  said  he  suddenly,  "  I  can 
tell  you  where  we  can  find  the  owner !  Look 
in  the  papers  I  —  in  the  advertisements !  " 

"  Sure  enough,"  said  Harry ;  "  why  didn't 
I  think  of  it  before  ?  I'll  bet  you're  right ! 
I'll  run  down  and  get  papa's  paper  this  in- 
stant," and  off  he  bounded. 

Joe  waited  very  impatiently  for  his  return. 
Pretty  soon  he  heard  him  coming  back  — 
taking  two  stairs  at  a  time.  Almost  breathless 
xvith  haste  he  rushed  into  the  room,  crying  — 

"  I've  —  found  —  it !  Here  it  is  —  the  very 
first  thing  in  big  letters  I  " 


162  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

Hurriedly  he  spread  the  paper  upon  the 
floor,  and  both  boys  got  down  upon  their  kneea 
to  read.  And  this  is  what  they  found  :  — 

"LOST! 

1100  REWARD.  Lost  on  the  night  of  the 
23rd  inst.,  about  half-past  five,  an  antique 
SILVER  CUP.  It  is  covered  with  a  rich  design 
of  leaves  and  stems,  and  has  a  Z  upon  the 
bottom  of  it  by  which  it  may  be  identified. 
The  above  reward  will  be  paid  to  the  finder 
of  said  cup  upon  its  return  to  Police  Head- 
quarters, No.  37,  Thrace  St.;  or  to  JAMES 
HARVEY,  at  his  office,  No.  270  West-High 
Street." 

The  boys  looked  in  each  other's  faces,  and 
were  silent  for  a  moment.  Than  Harry  cried: 

"  Hurrah,  Joe  !  you're  in  luck  !  One  hun- 
dred dollars  reward.  Just  think  of  it !  " 

Joe  did  not  look  very  much  pleased. 


JOE'S  REWARD.  168 

"  I  didn't  notice  any  Z,"  vsaid  he. 

"  Nor  I,"  said  Harry ;  "  but  I'll  get  the  cup 
and  look,"  and  taking  the  key  from  his  pocket 
he  went  to  the  little  stand  in  the  corner,  un- 
locked the  drawer,  and  brought  forth  the 
treasure. 

"  Yes,  here  it  is !  "  he  cried,  joyfully,  "  cut 
into  the  silver  as  plain  as  day,"  and  laid  it 
down  on  the  paper  for  Joe  to  look  at.  Yes, 
there  was  the  Z  well  cut  into  the  smooth  sur- 
face of  the  bottom.  There  could  be  no  doubt 
but  that  it  was  the  very  cup,  but  Joe  did  not 
look  very  well  pleased. 

"  Why,"  said  Harry,  "  it's  almost  as  good 
as  though  'twas  your  own,  and  you  could  sell 
it.  A  hundred  dollars  will  buy  you  a  good 
many  things,  Joe." 

"  Yes,  I  suppose  so,"  said  Joe,  indifferently. 

"  But  aren't  you  glad  ?  "  grieved  Harry,  im- 
patiently. 


164  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

"  Not  very,'-'  said  Joe,  looking  steadfastly  at 
the  deeply  graven  letter. 

"  Oh,  dear,  what  a  fellow  !  Now  I'm  out  of 
all  patience  with  you  !  What  do  you  mean  ? 
Isn't  the  reward  large  enough  ?  Do  you  want 
more  ?  Why,  I  should  think  —  " 

"  Stop  1  "  interrupted  Joe,  with  some  en- 
ergy ;  "  the  reward  is  large  enough,  and  I  don't 
want  any  more,  and  —  well,  I  believe  I  don't 
want  any  reward  at  all." 

44  Wh-a-what? "  stammered  Harry,  "not 
want  any  reward  ?  " 

"  No,  for  you  see,  I  don't  think  I  deserve 
any.  I  was  going  to  steal  the  cup  —  or  what 
was  just  the  same  —  and  should  have  done  it, 
but  for  happening  to  get  my  courage  back  this 
morning.  I'm  going  to  carry  the  cup  down  to 
the  Police  Office,  tell  them  all  about  it,  and  re- 
fuse the  reward.  I  don't  deserve  it,  anyhow, 
when  I  was  going  to  keep  it  and  rob  the  owner. " 


JOE'S  REWARD.  165 

"  But,"  remonstrated  Harry,"  just  think  of  it 
a  moment.  The  reward  is  —  " 

"  No,  no,  no,"  said  Joe,  resolutely,  "  don't 
ialk  to  me  about  it !  I  don't  want  to  hear. 
I'm, going  to  carry  the  cup  right  to  the  Office, 
and  leave  it,  and  take  nothing." 

"  Well,"  said  Harry  in  despair,  "  when 
you've  got  you're  mind  made  up  there's  no 
changing  you,  Joe  Gray !  But  I  do  think 
you're  foolish ! " 

"  I  guess  I'd  better  go  right  off,"  said  Joe, 
without  minding  this  remark,  "  for  it'll  be 
school-time  before  long,  and  I  don't  want  to  be 
tardy  my  last  morning."  * 

"  Yes,"  said  Harry  with  emphasis,  "  your 
last  morning!  when,  if  you'd  take  the  re  — " 

But  Joe  stopped  his  ears,  and  would  not 
listen. 

"  Come,"  said  he  presently,  "  please  show 
me  the  way  down  stairs,  and  let  me  go." 

Harry  led  the  way  down  in  silence,  and  pi- 


166  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

loted  him  safely  to  the  kitchen-door,  and  there 
Joe  stopped  short,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  to 
say  — 

"  I  wish  you  wouldn't  be  angry  at  me, 
Harry.  I  really  think  I'd  ought —  " 

"Pshaw !  "  interrupted  Harry,  petulantly, 
"  I'm  not  angry  !  "  and  left  his  friend  without 
another  word. 

"  He  is  vexed,"  thought  poor  Joe,  as  he  hid 
the  cup  under  his  jacket,  "  but  I  can't  help  it ! 
I  was  going  to  steal  this  and  keep  it  for  my 
own,  when  it  belonged  to  another ;  and  oh, 
how  dreadful  near  I  came  to  it !  And  now  I 
don't  1&ink  I  deserve  a  hundred  dollars,  nor 
even  a  penny." 

With  this  thought  uppermost  in  his  mind,  he 
hurried  down  the  walk  into  the  street.  The 
sun  had  not  fairly  shown  his  face  that  morning, 
there  were  so  many  thick  gray  clouds  in  the 
East;  and  a  cold  wind  had  risen,  which 
chilled  the  bry  to  the  very  marrow. 


JOE'S  REWARD.  167 

"  Ug-g-g-h,"  he  chattered,  "  how  cold  'tis  !  " 
but  did  not  sigh  at  all  when  he  thought  of  the 
warm  clothes  he  was  to  have  had  that  very 
day.  Men  in  warm  coats  and  cloaks  were 
hurrying  to  their  business,  and  Joe  presently 
found  himself  in  a  crowd  of  people  who  were 
all  making  their  way  down  town.  In  this 
justling  current  he  was  pushed  about  and  trod 
upon,  and  had  to  hold  tight  to  keep  the  cup  in 
its  hiding-place.  "  Rather  of  a  cold  morning, 
for  such  a  thin  jacket,"  said  a  cheery  old  voice, 
and  instantly  Joe  felt  something  thrust  into  his 
hand.  It  was  a  dime.  Very  likely  he  would 
have  refused  to  take  it,  but  the  crowd  swallowed 
up  the  old  gentleman  who  gave  it,  and  the  boy 
could  not  help  himself.  You  will  presently  see 
that  he  was  afterward  thankful  enough  for  the 
donation. 

A  little  way  farther,  and  he  entered  Thrace 
street,  where  the  crowd  was  quite  as  great. 
Here,  too,  the  current  was  dropping  down- 


168  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

town,  and  Joe  had  nothing  to  do  but  be  borne 
along  with  the  rest.  He  had  passed  the  Police 
Headquarters  many  a  time,  and  so  was  not  at 
all  at  a  loss  to  find  the  building.  He  pushed 
through  the  crowd,  and  went  up  the  steps  in 
some  slight  trepidation.  The  warm  air  of  the 
room  which  he  entered  was  agreeable  enough 
to  the  boy's  chilled  limbs.  Some  sleepy  po- 
liceman were  nodding  around  the  coal-stove. 
Passing  them,  he  went  directly  up  to  the  desk 
where  the  Captain  sat  writing.  It  was  some 
minutes  before  that  gentleman  noticed  his  pres- 
ence, but  when  he  did,  he  looked  up  —  strok- 
ing his  whiskers  —  and  said  —  "  Well,  I  sup- 
pose dad's  been  fighting  mam,  and  mam  sent 
you  up  here  to  have  dad  carted  off  to  the 
lock-up,  eh  ?  " 

"  No,  sir,"  said  Joe,  with  very  red  cheeks, 
—  u  I've  come  to  bring  back  that  —  that  cup, 
lir." 

"What  cup?"  said  the  officer,  staring;  — 


JOE'S  REWARD.  169 

"  oh  !  —  ah  —  I  remember  I  You  mean  Mr. 
Pendleton's  cup." 

"  I  don't  know  who  it  belongs  to,''  said  Joe, 
trembling  in  spite  of  himself  under  the  keen 
glance  which  the  Captain  suddenly  bent  upon 
him,  "  but  the  advertisement  says  it  was  to  be 
left  here." 

— "  Yes,  sir !  this  is  the  place  to  leave  it  if 
you've  got  it,"  said  the  Captain,  sharply  ;  and 
getting  off  his  high  chair  he  came  around  to 
where  Joe  stood. 

"  Well,"  said  he, ."  where  is  it  ?  "  and  stood 
stock-still,  looking  very  grim  and  stern. 

Joe  unbuttoned  his  jacket,  took  out  the 
treasure,  and  handed  it  to  the  Captain.  That 
gentleman  expressed  his  astonishment  by  a 
long  whistle. 

"  I  declare  !  "  said  he,  —  u  that  is  a  beauty. 
I  don't  wonder  the  old  chap  was  anxious  about 
it.  Nixby,  come  here  and  look  at  this." 


170  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

One  of  the  sleepy  policeman  left  his  chair 
by  the  stove,  and  came  to  where  they  stood. 

"  Did  you  ever  see  anything  like  that  ?  " 
asked  the  Captain. 

Nixby  looked  on  rather  apathetically,  and 
asked  —  "  Who's  is  it  ?" 

"  Why,  that  queer  old  gent's  that  was  in 
here  with  Harvey  the  other  night.  He  was  in 
a  dreadful  stew  about  it.  Offered  a  hundred 
for  it  two  days  ago,  and  here  it  is." 

Nixby  went  back  to  his  seat  and  fell  to 
nodding  again,  and  when  the  Captain  had 
leisurely  examined  the  wonderful  piece  of  sil- 
ver, he  carefully  placed  it  upon  the  top  of  his 
desk.  Then  turning  about  to  Joe  he  surveyed 
him  from  head  to  foot,  and  said  coldly  — 

"Well,  sir,  how  did  you  come  by  this? 
Now  remember  I  don't  you  tell  me  a  lie,  nor 
try  to  pass  any  sham-stories  off  upon  me,  for 
you  see,  it  won't  do  at  all.  Just  hold  up  your 


JOE'S   REWARD.  171 

head,  stick  out  your  toes,  and  answer  like  a 
major." 

Joe  thought  it  the  inost  disagreeable  voice 
he  had  ever  heard.  He  could  not  help  quail- 
ing, either,  under  those  merciless  eyes. 

"  Well,"  said  the  Captain,  "  in  the  first 
place,  where  did  you  get  this  cup  ?  Now  stick 
to  the  truth,  sir." 

"  I  found  it  on  the  side-walk,"  answered  Joe, 
with  very  hot  cheeks. 

"  On  the  side-walk,  eh  ?  —  well  how  carii^ 
you  to  find  it?" 

"  I  was  going  home  from  school,  and  in  the 
dark  —  " 

"  Humph  !  "  said  the  Captain,  "  going  home 
from  school  in  the  dark,  were  you  ?  That 
looks  probable." 

44  But  I  was,  indeed,"  said  poor  Joe,  "  for  I 
stopped  at  Harry  ThorpeV  gate  till  it  was 
real  dark." 


172  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

44  All  right,"  said  the  Captain  unbelievingly, 
"go  on  !  " 

"  And  just  as  I  had  got  a  little  way  from  tho 
gate,  I  stumbled  over  something  on  the  walk, 
and  it  was  this.  I  thought  it  was  only  an  old 
tea-pot  at  first,  and  was  going  to  throw  it  into 
the  street,  but  —  " 

"  There's  a  law  against  throwing  rubbish 
into  the  street/'  said  the  Captain,  "  but  go  on." 

"  Then,"  continued  Joe, "  I  saw  it  was  this." 

"  Hold  on  just  there,  sir !  This  story  is 
pretty  well  put  together,  considering  that  you're 
a  boy,  but  allow  me  to  assure  you  that  I  don't 
believe  a  word  of  it.  If  you're  an  honest  boy 
why  didn't  you  bring  the  cup  here  at  once  ?  " 

"  I  never  saw  the  reward  till  this  morning," 
said  Joe  faintly. 

"You  didn't,  eh?  Well,  then  I  must  beg 
leave  to  differ  from  you,  and  even  if  that  were 
true,  why  didn't  you  let  us  know  at  once  what 


JOE'S  REWARD.  173 

you  had  found  ?  Ah  —  you  see  that  if  you 
were  quite  honest  you'd  have  told  us  at  once 
what  a  valuable  thing  you  had  found." 

Joe's  cheeks  were  flushed  a  bright  crimson, 
and  the  tears  trembled  in  his  eyes  at  being 
talked  to  in  this  manner. 

"  Come,"  said  the  Captain  in  a  softer  tone, 
"  better  make  a  clean  breast  of  it,  and  we  shall 
let  you  off  pretty  easy  this  time,  I  guess." 

"  I  wasn't  honest,  I  know,  said  Joe,  chok- 
ingly ;  "  because  when  I  first  found  it  I  wanted 
it  for  my  own,  and  meant  to  sell  it  to  get 
money  to  go  to  school  with,  and  to  buy  books 
with,  and  to  get  me  some  clothes." 

"  Exactly,"  said  his  listener  coolly ;  "  now 
you  talk  like  it." 

"  But  finally  I  changed  my  mind —  " 

"  About  the  time  when  you  saw  the  reward," 
interrupted  the  Captain. 

"  And  I  thought  that  1  hadn't  ought  to  keep 
it  —  " 


174  MK.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

"  Because  you  thought  it  would  be  a  great 
deal  easier  to  take  a  hundred  in  clear  cash  than 
to  keep  it  and  run  the  risk  of  being  discovered. 
Yes,  I  think  I  can  understand  your  feelings." 

Joe  gave  up  trying  to  say  anything  to  this 
icy-toned  and  stony-hearted  man,  and  two  or 
three  bright  tears  rolled  down  his  cheeks,  and 
fell  upon  the  old  jacket.  Was  this  the  reward 
which  he  was  to  get  for  vanquishing  the 
Tempter  ? 

"  Come,"  said  the  Captain,  "  weep  not,  my 
boy.  We're  accustomed  to  tears,  here.  Now 
tell  me  honestly  what  you  came  here  for  this 
morning." 

"  To  bring  back  the  cup,"  said  Joe. 

"  And  to  get  a  hundred  dollars,"  added  his 
inquisitor. 

"  No,  sir  !  I  didn't  come  for  it.  I  wouldn't 
touch  it!  " 

"  I  dare  say,"  said  the  Captain,  ironically ; 
"  you've  no  need  of  the  filthy  lucre,  I  suppose 


JOE'S  REWARD.  175 

sonny,"  leaning  forward  and  drawing 
Joe  toward  him  by  the  shoulder,  "  listen  to 
what  I've  got  to  say.  I  suppose  you  like  to 
hear  stories,  and  I'm  going  to  tell  you  one." 

This  was  said  in  such  an  icy  tone,  and  then 
was  such  a  disagreeable  smile  upon  the  speak- 
er's face,  that  Joe  was  sure  the  story  could  be 
nothing  good. 

"  Well,  once  there  was  a  queer  old  gentle- 
man who  looked  as  if  he  might,  be  Methu- 
selah's great-grandfather,  and  one  night  — 
about  sundown  —  he  was  walking  along  in  a 
crowded  street  with  a  black  valise  in  his  hand. 
Now  the  black  valise  was  open,  for  the  old 
gent  didn't  make  a  point  of  having  but  one 
idea  in  his  head  at  a  time,  and  as  he  walked 
along,  a  little  boy  —  well,  about  your  size,  I 
should  say,  —  saw  something  shining  in  the 
bag ;  well,  this  little  chap  —  now  I  think  of  it, 
he  looked  something  like  you  —  ran  along  bo- 
side  th/3  old  gent,  and  when  they  were  both  in 


176  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

a  nice  crowd,  what  does  the  little  chap  do  but 
put  his  hand  in  the  old  gent's  bag  and  pull  out 
the  shiny  thing,  which  turns  out  to  be  a  silver 
cup !  But  the  best  of  the  joke  is,  that  when 
the  little  chap  saw  the  big  reward  in  the 
paper,  he  takes  the  cup,  posts  off  to  the  Cap'n 
of  Police,  and  makes  believe  that  he  picked 
the  cup  up  on  —  Why,  my  stars  !  "  cried  the 
Captain,  —  affecting  great  surprise,  —  "  I'll  be 
shot  if  you  ain't  that  very  same  little  chap !  " 

Here  a  roar  of  laughter  went  up  from  the 
policemen  about  the  stove,  at  the  display  of 
their  chief's  humor. 

"  Oh,  sir ! "  cried  Joe,  in  sudden  terror, 
"  do  you  mean  to  say  that  I  stole  it  ?  —  and 
out  of  the  gentleman's  valise,  too  ?  " 

"Well,"  said  the  Captain, jocularly,  "stole 
is  a  pretty  hard  word.  It  means  State  Pri-on, 
and  lots  of  things,  —  and  on  the  whole  I  guess 
it's  a  pretty  big  word  for  your  shoulders  ;  so 
we'll  say  that  you  abstracted  it,  though  I  be- 


JOE'S  REWARD.  177 

lieve  that  means  pretty  much  the   same  thing 
in  the  long  run." 

Joe's  face  slowly  turned  very  white,  —  not 
with  a  sense  of  guilt,  for  you  know  he  was  not 
guilty,  —  but  because  he  knew  that  the  stern, 
suspicious  Captain  would  never  credit  his 
story,  nor  even  listen  to  it. 

"  Well,"  observed  the  grim  officer  at  last, 
"you  needn't  look  so  scared,  —  especially  if 
you're  such  a  nice,  honest  boy  as  you  tell  for. 
Honest  boys  don't  get  locked  up$  not  that  I've 
heard  of.  Now  I've  got  some  writing  to  do, 
and  I'm  going  back  to  it,  and  I'm  going  to  ask 
you  one  more  question.  Did  you  steal  that 
cup,  or  did  you  find  it?" 

Joe  looked  up  into  the  stern  eyes  that  were 
watching  him,  and  said  lirmly  —  "I  found  it." 

"  O  pshaw  !  "  cried  the  Captain,  "  I  knew 
you  would  say  so.  Nixby,  keep  your  eyes  on 
the  little  chap !  "  and  with  this  injunction  he 
got  up  and  went  round  the  desk  to  his  writing. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

A    PRISONER. 

prisoner,  —  not  held  by  locks  nor 
bolts,  but  simply  by  Policeman  Nix- 
by's  eyes.  A  prisoner  —  not  confined 
in  cell  or  dungeon,  but  seated  in  a 
tolerably  comfortable  chair.  He  might  easily 
Lave  darted  out  of  the  door,  for  his  jailer 
dropped  asleep  at  least  once  in  five  minutes ; 
but  if  he  ran  away  they  would  certainly  think 
him  a  thief,  he  thought.  So  he  sat  in  the 
chair  with  a  despairing  heart,  and  listened  to 
the  scratch,  scratch,  of  the  Captain's  pen,  to 
the  ticking  of  the  clock,  and  the  noise  in  the 
street.  By-and-by  the  clock  struck  nine. 
178 


A   PRISONER.  179 

Time  for  school  to  commence,  and  his  last 
day,  too ! 

"  Please  can't  I  go  ?  "  he  cried  out  on  the 
impulse  of  the  moment. 

"  No  talking  down  there,"  said  the  Captain 
gruffly,  — "  you  put  me  out.  Nixby,  wake 
up!  —  I've  got  a  message  here  that  I  want 
taken  down  to  the  office." 

That  sleepy  policeman  got  up,  stretched 
himself  and  yawned,  and  walked  up  to  his 
chiefs  desk. 

"  Here's  a  telegram  for  Darnleigh,  to  that 
old  gent,"  said  the  officer  ;  "  Harvey  stopped 
in  this  morning  and  told  me  that  he'd  gone 
home.  Now  see  that  it's  sent  through  at 
once." 

Nixby  promised  to  do  so,  and  here  followed 
a  whispered  consultation  of  which  Joe  did  not 
hear  a  word,  though  he  was  pretty  sure  that  it 
concerned  him.  Then  Nixby  went  to  the  Tel- 
egraph office  with  his  message,  and  the  Cap- 


180  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

tain's  pen  began  its  scratching  again.  Oh, 
how  long  were  the  minutes!  —  how  tiresome  ! 
how  anxious  to  waiting  Joe  ! 

He  did  not  imagine  that  the  Captain  meant 
to  detain  him  any  length  of  time,  when  he  sat 
down ;  but  the  pointer  went  slowly  around  to 
ten  without  permission  to  go,  and  he  began  to 
be  greatly  troubled.  What  were  they  going 
to  do  with  him  ?  Were  they  going  to  prove 
him  guilty  of  stealing  ?  Oh,  no  !  he  thought, 
they  can't  do  that !  —  they  wouldn't  try  to  do 
such  a  ridiculous  thing  ! 

But  all  his  doubts  were  speedily  solved,  for 
a  little  after  ten  the  Captain  laid  down  his  pen 
and  came  around  to  see  how  his  prisoner  was 
getting  on. 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "  I  suppose  I've  got  to  do 
something  with  you,  little  chap.  What  shall  it 
be?" 

"  Let  me  go  to  school,"  said  Joe  pleadingly, 
"  for  it's  my  last  day." 


A    PRISONER.  181 

"  Your  last  day  is  it  ?  Well,  so  much  the 
better  for  you,  eh  ?  Boys  like  to  havo-  the  last 

day   of   school   come,   I    believe.     But   that'.* 

• 

nothing  to  do  with  our  business.  We've  got 
to  settle  this  cup  business,  first.  Come,  if  you'll 
confess  how  you  got  it  I'll  let  you  off  pretty 
easy,  —  seeing  that  this  is  the  first  offence. 
But  you  must  be  spry  !  I  can't  waste  time  on 
you." 

"  There's  nothing  to  confess,  sir,  —  only  that 
I  found  it  on  the  side-walk,"  said  Joe. 

"  Pshaw,  boy !  can't  you  see  that  I  know 
better  ?  Come,  I'm  disposed  to  be  easy  with 
you,  but  if  you're  going  to  stick  it  out  in  this 
manner,  I'll  put  you  through,  and  show  no 
mercy  !  I  suppose  you  know  that  I  can  have 
you  arrested  and  locked  up  for  stealing  that 
cup,  don't  you  ?  " 

No,  Joe  did  not  know  it,  and  the  intelligence 
terrified  him  somewhat.  "  Oh,  sir,"  said  he, 
u  how  can  I  confess  when  I  didn't  do  it?" 


182  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

"  Humph  !  "  said  the  Captain  impatiently, 
u  you're  one  of  the  obstinate  kind,  I  perceive. 
There's  no  use  in  wasting  words  on  you  I  I 
never  want  to  give  a  boy  a  bad  character  if  I 
can  help  it,  but  if  you  won't  take  good  advice 
it's  none  of  my  business.  Tom !  "  he  called 
out  to  one  of  the  men  at  the  stove,  "  take  this 
boy  down  to  the  lock-up  till  we  —  " 

But  Joe  interrupted  with  a  shrill  cry. 

"  O,  Captain ! "  he  cried,  clinging  to  that 
gentleman,  "  don't  have  me  locked  up  !  don't  I 
don't !  Send  for  Harry,  —  he'll  tell  you  I 
found  it,  sir ! " 

"  Harry  who  ?  "  asked  the  Captain,  coldly. 

"  Harry  Thorpe  !  —  he  was  with  me  —  he 
knows  that  I  picked  it  up,  and  he'll  tell  you 
so." 

u  I  dare  say  he  would.  I  don't  doubt  but 
what  there  are  a  dozen  rag-muffins  in  the 
street  who  would  swear  that  they  saw  it  drop 


A   PRISONER.  183 

from  the  moon,  if  you  wanted  'em  to !  But 
we  don't  take  boy's  evidence,  as  it  happens." 

Joe  was  in  despair.  The  Captain  was  like 
an  ice-berg,  and  there  was  no  hope  of  melting 
his  heart.  As  a  last  resort,  he  cried  — 

"  Let  me  tell  you  where  I  found  it,  sir,  and 
what  kind  of  an  old  gentleman  it  was  who 
passed  us  just  before,  sir  !  " 

"  Aha !  so  you  do  know  about  the  old  gen- 
tleman, after  all  ?  "  said  the  Captain,  sharply  ; 
"  well,  I  thought  you'd  .cross  your  tracks  be- 
fore all  was  over!  Tom,  take  him  off,  will 
you  ?  JPm  sick  of  this." 

Policeman  Tom  took  Joe  by  the  shoulder, 
and  marched  him  towards  the  door.  And  as 
they  were  going  out,  the  Captain  cried  — 

"  Try  the  lock-up  a  while,  little  chap,  till 
you  get  ready  to  tell  a  straight  story.  Then 
I'd  like  to  see  you  again!"  and  the  door 
slammed  behind  them. 

Tears  rolled  down  Joe's  cheeks  as  he  thought 


184  MR.  PENDLETON'S  ccrp. 

—  "I  shall  be  locked  up,  and  Harry  nor  any 
one  won't  know  what's  taken  me  !  "  and  grasp- 
ing the  policeman's  arm,  he  cried  entreat- 
ing1/ — 

"  O,  please  let  me  go  and  tell  some  one 
what's  going  to  become  of  me  !  Do  !  —  or  send 
some  one  to  tell  Harry !  " 

"  Well,  that  would  be  jolly  !  "  observed  Tom, 
laughing  good-naturedly ;  "  wouldn't  you  like 
to  have  me  go  and  do  the  errand,  and  leave 
you  here  ?  You'd  be  here  when  I  got  back,  I 
guess ! " 

"Indeed  I  would  !  "  said  Joe,  earnestly,    • 
"  No,  —  'twon't  do,  my  lad,  come  along  !  " 
But  on  the  walk  before  them  lay  a  fragment 
of  envelope  which  some  one  had  thrown  down, 
in  his  pocket  was  a  pencil,  and  on  the  curb- 
stone was  a  ragged  urchin.     Quick  as  a  light- 
ning-flash the  thought  went  through  his  mind : 
"  Send  a  note  to  Harry" 

"  O   wait  just   one   minute  I "    he   pleaded, 


JOE  WRITING  A  NOTE  TO  HARRY.    Page  185. 


A    PRISONER.  1#5 

"tiii  I  can  send  a  word  to  him.  JusJ  oiv 
minute !  " 

"  Well,  be  spry  then,"  said  the  policeman, 
and  looked  over  the  boy's  shoulder  while  he 
wrote.  Joe  traced  a  few  hurried  words,  then 
went  up  to  the  ragged  urchin  and  said  — 

"  Take  this  to  the  High  school  for  me,  will 
you  ?  I'll  give  you  a  dime." 

The  boy  nodded  assent  —  eager  to  do  the 
errand  for  that  sum. 

"Enquire  for  Harry  Thorpe,"  said  Joe, 
"  don't  give  it  to  any  one  else.  Here's  your 
dime." 

"  Minute's  up  !  "  said  Tom,  —  "  come  along, 
little  chap,"  and  away  they  went.  But  in  all 
that  long,  wretched  walk  the  boy  found  conso- 
lation in  thinking  —  "Harry  will  know  it! 
he'll  get  the  note,  and  he  won't  let  me  be 
locked  up  long,  for  he'll  tell  them  how  'twas." 

He  mentally  blessed  the  old  gentleman  who 
gave  him  the  dime,  again  and  again  ;  remem- 


186  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

Bering  tnat  but  for  that  fortunate  piece  of 
silver  be  would  have  been  unable  to  communi- 
cate his  whereabouts  to  his  friend. 

"  Oh,"  thought  he  gratefully,  "  there's  some 
good  men  in  the  world,  though  the  Captain 
isn't  one ! " 

Down  Thrace  street — through  the  crowd 
which  poured  in  at  the  four  entrances  of  the 
square  —  and  then  they  entered  a  quieter 
thoroughfare.  Joe  did  not  remember  any  of 
the  blocks  or  shops  to  look  familiar.  Presently 
they  stopped  before  a  low,  dingy  building, 
with  dark  and  gloomy  windows,  at  the  sight 
of  which  the  boy  trembled  —  they  looked  so 
prison-like. 

"  Come,"  said  Policeman  Tom,  as  they  en- 
tered, "  you  needn't  be  alarmed.  This  isn't  a 
bad  place  by  any  means.  Why,  here's  a  fire 
and  benches,  and  plenty  of  company." 

The  fire  was  good  enough,  to  be  sure,  but 
the  company  !  Vile-faced  men  lounged  on  the 


A.  PRISONER.  187 

benches,  and  looked  up  moodily  as  they  c^me 
in.  There  were  half-dozen  little  boys  huddled 
around  the  stove ;  some  miserable  creatures  in 
the  corner  were  dozing  away  the  effects  of  a 
drunken  carousal,  and  the  air  of  the  narrow 
room  was  almost  suffocating  with  its  burden 
of  bad  odors.  Tom  placed  his  charge  on  the 
end  of  one  of  the  benches,  and  just  then  a 
squad  of  policeman  arrived  to  convey  the  oc- 
cupants of  the  lock-up  to  the  police-court. 

This  was  one  comfort  to  poor  Joe,  for  the 
room  was  nearly  emptied  of  its  wretched  occu- 
pants, and  he  had  some  hope  that  they  would 
not  be  sent  back  again.  Policeman  Tom  de- 
parted with  the  rest,  after  good-naturedly 
telling. his  charge  "  not  to  fret  nor  get  uneasy, 
for  likely  enough  he'd  get  let  out  in  the  course 
of  the  day." 

i  do  not  think  it  very  strange  that  when 
left  to  himself  in  the  silence  and  gloom  of  the 
lock-up,  Joe's  heart  began  to  grow  despondent. 


183  MR.    PEXDLETOx's    CUP. 

He  suddenly  felt  very  lonely  and  friendless, 
and  not  at  all  sure  that  Harry  would  help 
him.  He  remembered  that  his  friend  was 
vexed  when  last  he  left  him,  "  and  now," 
thought  he,  "  he  may  say  it's  good  enough  for 
me.  And  perhaps  he  wouldn't  want  to  claim 
acquaintance  with  a  boy  that's  shut  up  for  a 
thief,  —  he  might  be  ashamed  to  I  And  be- 
sides, he  may  never  get  the  note  ;  the  boy  may 
keep  the  dime,  and  throw  the  note  away,  and 
I  not  be  able  to  help  myself!  "  Tortured  by 
these  thoughts  his  heart  grew  heavier  and 
heavier,  —  especially  after  noon,  when  Harry 
failed  to  appear. 

But  Harry  Thorpe  was  too  true  a  friend  to 
desert  Joe  because  he  had  fallen  into  trouble. 
It  was  no  fault  of  his  that  he  did  not  go  at  once 
to  his  friend's  help,  nor  was  it  exactly  the  fault 
of  the  errand-boy,  who  was  more  honest  than 
Joe  had  feared.  When,  at  nine  o'clock  the 
bell  rang  and  school  commenced,  Harry  was 


A    PRISONER.  189 

somewhat  surprised  to  find  that  Joe  \vais  not 
there  ;  but  thinking  that  he  had  been  delayed 
at  the  Police  Office,  he  went  unconcernedly  to 
his  studies,  expecting  to  see  him  enter  the 
study-room  at  any  moment.  But  to  his  aston- 
ishment, no  Joe  came.  The  forenoon  wore 
away,  intermission  came,  and  he  went  home  to 
dinner  by  the  way  of  Thrace  Street,  —  stopping 
to  look  in  at  the  Police  Office.  But  there  was 
no  one  there — save  a  solitary  policeman. 
Harry  ran  home,  thinking  that  perhaps  Joe 
had  given  up  attending  school  on  his  last  day, 
and  thought  to  himself  remorsefully  —  "  I  was 
cross  to  the  poor  fellow  this  morning.  I  didn't 
treat  him  right,  and  now  may-be  he  thinks  I'm 
angry  at  him,  and  don't  want  to  spend  his  last 
day  with  me." 

He  ate  but  little  dinner,  and  hurried  back  to 
school,  hoping  to  find  that  bis  friend  had 
arrived.  But  he  was  doomed  to  disappoint- 
ment, for  no  Joe  came  all  that  long  afternoon. 


190  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

"  Oh,  dear !  "  thought  he  to  himself,  —  a  I  .n 
afraid  something  has  happened  to  him  !  and  I 
don't  even  know  where  he  lives  !  " 

But  as  school  was  dismissed  that  night,  and 
the  boys  were  rushing  out  into  the  street,  the 
mystery  was  solved.  Ned  Talmon  laid  his 
hand  on  Harry's  shoulder,  saying  laughingly  — 
"Look  here,  Harry,  I've  got  something  for 
you !  What'll  you  give  to  see  it  ?  " 

"  Nothing  to-night,  Ned,"  said  Harry  soberly, 
"  for  I'm  in  a  great  hurry  !  I've  got  to —  " 

"  Well,  here  it  is  ;  and  let  me  tell  you  how 
I  found  it.  You  know  I  was  late  this  morning 
—  till  half-past  ten,  almost  —  and  as  I  was 
coming  in,  I  met  a  ragged  little  chap,  standing 
in  the  hall.  As  soon  as  he  saw  me  he  said  — 
•  Be  you  Harry  Thorpe  ?  '  *  Yes,'  said  I,  just 
for  fun,  you  know,  and  what  did  he  do  but  put 
this  bit  of  envelope  into  my  hand,  and  ran  off. 
It  was  such  a  little  affair  that  I  forgot  all  about 
it  till  this  minute.  Here  't  is,  and  I  hope  it's 


A    PRISONER.  191 

interesting !  "  and  Ned  laughingly  hurried  after 
the  boys.  Harry  unfolded  the  bit  of  yellow 
paper  in  much  astonishment,  and  you  may 
imagine  his  surprise  when  he  found  these 
words : 

u  O,  Harry  !  I'm  arrested  for  stealing  that 
cup,  and  they're  taking  me  to  the  lock-up. 

Help  me. 

JOE. 

Arrested  !  taken  to  the  lock-up  !  —  and  for 
stealing  the  cup !  Harry  was  so  confused  for 
a  minute  that  he  leaned  against  a  friendly  wall 
to  collect  his  wits,  Then  he  slowly  reagl  the 
note  again.  It  was  all  clear,  now,  why  Joe 
had  not  appeared  at  school.  And  almost  a 
whole  day  had  elapsed  since  the  note  was 
written !  no  wonder  that  Joe  would  think  him- 
self deserted  by  his  friend  ! 

He  thrust  the  bit  of  paper  into  his  pocket, 
and  rushed  off  for  the  Police  Office,  intent 


192  MR.  PEXDLKTON'S  CUP. 

only  on  one  object  —  that  of  proving  his  friend's 
innocence.  The  day  had  been  chilly  and 
cloudy,  and  night  was  falling  fast,  and  gas-light 
began  to  flare  out  of  the  shop-windows  across 
his  path  as  he  ran.  He  was  but  a  very  few 
minutes  in  reaching  the  Headquarters,  and 
burst  in  upon  the  officers  there  like  a  whirl- 
wind. 

"  Whew  ! "  cried  the  Captain,  looking  up 
from  his  papers,  "  what's  coming?  "  „ 

It  was  a  well-dressed,  good-looking  boy,  pr 
that  gentleman  might  have  ordered  him  to  be 
shown  out.  But  as  it  was,  the  Captain  sat  and 
listened  —  looking  amused. 

"Oh,  sir,"  cried  Harry,  excitedly,  "he's 
just  as  innocent  as  he  can  be !  He  didn't 
steal  it,  sir,  indeed  he  didn't !  I  saw  him  pick 
it  up !""  and  here  was  obliged  to  stop  for  want 
of  breath. 

"  You  d  i,  eh  ?  "  very  coolly ;  "  well,  before 


A    PRISONER.  193 

you  go  any  further  I  should  be  happy  to  know 
who  you  are  talking  about." 

These  frigid  words  cooled  Harry's  ardor 
somewhat. 

"  I  mean  Joe  Gray,"  said  he,  "  whom  you 
have  arrested  for  stealing  a  cup  ;  but  he  didn't 
steal  it! — he  picked  it  up  on  the  sidewalk  in 
front  of  my  house.  I  know  he  didn't,  and  oh, 
won't  you  let  him  go,  sir  ?  " 

u  Whose  boy  are  you  ?  "  queried  the  Cap- 
tain. 

"Mr.  Thorpe's,  —  20,  Heath  Avenue,"  re- 
plied Harry. 

"You  are,  eh?  Well,  what  has  such  a 
smart  boy  as  you  to  do  with  such  a  little  rag- 
muffin  as  this  Joe  ?  " 

"  He  isn't  a  rag-muffin  !  "  said  Harry,  indig- 
nantly ;  "  he's  a  real  good  boy,  and  you've  no 
business  to  shut  him  up,  because  he  didn't 
steal  the  cup,  — he  found  it  I  " 


194  MK.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

"  Ha,  ha,  ha !  "  was  all  the  reply  the  Chief 
of  Police  made. 

"  But  it's  true !  "  said  Harry,  very  indig- 
nantly, "  and  you've  no  right  to  shut  up 
innocent  people.  He  found  the  cup  on  the 
sidewalk,  only  a  little  way  from  our  gate.  I 
can  show  you  the  very  spot,  sir,  and  you've  no 
right  to  shut  him  up,  anyhow  !  " 

The  Captain  admired  this  helligerent  spirit, 
and  was  not  at  all  displeased. 

"  Well,"  said  he  still  smiling,  "  suppose  that 
all  you  say  is  true,  —  what  are  you  going  to 
do  about  it  ?  " 

Of  course  Harry  could  not  tell,  but  he 
looked  as  if  he  would  like  to  put  the  Captain 
in  Joe's  place. 

"Please  won't  you  let  him  go,  sir?"  he 
pleaded,  a  few  minutes  after,  going  around  the 
desk  into  the  grim  Captain's  very  presence ; 
"  it  will  be  dreadful  to  have  him  shut  up  in 


A    PRISONER.  195 

that  horrid  lock-up  all  night!     Oh,  if  you  will, 
sir,  I  know  papa  will  be  responsible  for  him." 

"  Humph  !  "  said  the  Captain,  —  "  I've 
heard  enough.  In  the  station-house  master' 
Joe  will  hav^  to  stay  to-night  —  unless  the 
owner  of  the  cup  should  happen  to  make  his 
appearance  and  let  him  go ;  but  that  is  impos- 
sible, as  the  old  gent  happens  to  be  about  one 
hundred  miles  off  to-night.  So  you've  sense 
enough  to  see  that  I  can't  do  it  —  not  even  to 
accommodate  you,  my  fine  fellow.  Better 
take  it  cool,  and  let  him  stay  there ;  't won't 
hurt  him  a  particle,  and  about  to-morrow  after- 
noon—  if  I'm  not  mistaken  —  the  old  gent 
will  fetch  around  after  his  cup,  and  then  you 
can  have  a  chance  at  him.  But  remember, 
if  the  old  fellow  should  take  a  notion  to 
prosecute,  master  Joe  has  got  to  prove  his 
innocence." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  PRISONER'S  FRIENDS. 

§ARRY  turned  away  from  the  Captain 
with  a  very  sober  face,   but  was  not 
discouraged. 
"  I'll  go  home  and  see  papa !  "  he 
said  to  himself ;  "  papa  can  make  them  do  dif- 
ferently, I  know.     If  anything  can  be  done, 
he  can  do  it,"   and  with  this  thought  he  hur- 
ried toward  the  door. 

"  Call  again !  "  cried  the  Captain,  good- 
naturedly,  —  "we  shall  be  happy  to  see  you 
any  time." 

But  Harry  did  not  wait  to  reply,  and  ran 
out   into   the   chilly   street.      Gas-lights   now 
were  flaring  everywhere.     He  met  crowds  of 
196 


THE  PRISONER'S  FRIENDS.  197 

people  hurrying  homeward  from  their  labor  or 
pleasure,  and  then  chanced  to  remember  that 
his  father  might  yet  be  at  his  office,  as  it  was 
rather  too  early  for  supper.  He  stopped  short 
and  turned  about.  "  I'll  go  down  to  the  office 
first,  and  see,"  he  said  to  himself,  "  and  then  I 
shan't  have  my  walk  home  for  nothing !  " 

Running  and  walking  by  turns,  he  was  not 
long  in  leaving  Thrace  street  behind,  and  his 
father's  place  of  business  was  just  round  the 
corner, — fronting  the  square.  Up  the  stone 
steps  he  ran  —  into  the  great  salesroom  where 
the  gas  was  just  being  lit. 

"  O,  Weston,"  said  he  anxiously,  to  a  spruce 
clerk,  who.  was  looking  over  a  great  pile  of 
goods  which  lay  upon  tho  counter,  — "  has 
papa  gone  home  ?  " 

"  Ah,  you,  is  it,  Master  Harry  !  "  said  Wes- 
ton, with  a  very  polite  bow,  —  "  well,  I  guess 
you'll  find  him  in  the  counting-room  yet.  I 
haven't  seen  him  go." 


198  MR.  PEXDLETON'S  CUP. 

Whereat  Harry  ran  joyfully  to  the  office- 
door  and  pushed  it  open.  Good  fortune  !  — 
there  was  no  one  there  but  his  father,  and  he 
was  putting  on  his  rubbers  preparatory  to  going 
home.  The  first  inkling  which  Mr.  Thorpe 
had  of  his  son's  presence  was  at  finding  two 
arms  about  his  neck  and  at  hearing  a  voice 
say  — 

"  O  papa !  I'm  so  glad  you're  here." 

11  Why,  Harry,  my  son,"  said  Mr.  Thorpe ; 
"  what  brought  you  here  ?  Why,  I  was  ju>t 
thinking  of  you  at  this  moment  as  comfortable 
at  home  —  eating  supper  with  mamma  and 
Sophy,  while  poor  I  had  got  to  walk  all  the 
long  way  in  the  cold  wind !  " 

"  Oh,  but  you  see,  papa,  I'm  in  trouble !  I 
didn't  know  what  to  do,  so  I  came  to  you ! 
Will  you  help  me  ?  " 

"  Certainly,  Harry  :  but  I  must  know  what 
it  is  first." 

"  Yes,  papa  ;  you  see  there's  a  poor  boy  at 


THE  PRISONER'S  FRIENDS.  199 

school  —  a  friend  of  mine  —  and  he  found  a 
cup  the  other  night  in  front  of  our  house,  — • 
a  splendid  silver — " 

"  What,  the  one  that  is  advertised  ?  "  inter- 
rupted his  father. 

"  Yes,  sir  ;  and  when  he  saw  the  reward 
And  found  where  it  belonged  —  that  was  this 
morning  —  he  carried  it  straight  to  the  Police 
Office,  and  oh,  they've  arrested  him  for  steal- 
ing it  and  locked  him  up  in  the  station-house  I 
But  he's  innocent,  papa!  —  he's  innocent  I  — 
and  I  want  you  to  get  him  out." 

"  But  are  you  quite  sure  ?  " 

"Of  what,  papa?" 

"  That  he's  innocent,  —  that  he  didn't  steal 
the  cup.'' 

"  O  yes  !  yes  —  I  know  when  he  found  it ! 
I  know  where  he  found  it.  I  can  show  you 
the  very  spot,  papa,  and  Joe  wouldn't  steal  to 
save  his  life  !  " 


200  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

"But  why  didn't  he  carry  the  cup  in 
before  ?  " 

"  He  never  saw  the  reward  till  this  morning, 
papa,  and  —  and  —  " 

"  What.  Harry  ?  " 

"  He  is  so  poor  and  wants  to  go  to  school  so 
badly  that  -*—  that  at  first  he  wanted  to  keep 
this  cup  and  sell  it  to  get  the  money.  He's 
dreadful  poor,  papa !  " 

"  I  dare  say.  But  he  had  some  thoughts  of 
being  dishonest,  it  seems." 

"  Yes,  —  he  wanted  to  learn  so  bad  !  and  — 
and  —  I  tempted  him,  papa,"  said  Harry,  with 
downcast  eyes. 

"  You,  my  son?"  said  Mr.  Thorpe,  survey- 
ing his  boy  sternly. 

"  Yes  —-papa  —  "  chokingly,  "  I  loved  him, 
and  I  wanted  him  to  go  to  school  —  and  my 
spendingrinoney  was  all  gone,  and  —  and  —  I 
tried  to  have  him  sell  the  cup,  —  he  was  such  a 


THE  PRISONER'S  FRIENDS.  201 

dear  friend  ;  but  he  was  better  than  I  papa,  for 
he  wouldn't  sell  it,  and  when  he  saw  the  re- 
ward he  carried  it  right  to  the  office,  —  not  to 
get  the  money,  though,  for  he  wouldn't  touch 
a  bit  of  it  because  he  had  been  thinking  of 
doing  wrong." 

A  deep  silence  followed,  in  which  the  little 
French  clock  on  the  wall  ticked  noisily. 
Then  — 

"  You  did  very  wrong,  Harry  ! ''  came  from 
Mr.  Thorpe's  lips.  The  boy's  chin  quivered. 

44 1  should  never  have  thought  you  capable 
of  tempting  a  poor  boy  like  that ;  a  poor  boy 
who  had  everything  to  drive  him  to  the  sin 
without  your  influence.  He  must  have  had  a 
hard  fight  with  temptation,  —  with  his  friend 
leading  him  on." 

"  Oh  —  papa  !  "  and  Harry  burst  into  tears. 
His  father  made  no  attempt  to  soothe  him  till 
his  sobs  grew  less.  Then  he  drew  him  upon 
his  knee,  saying  — 


202  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

"  There,  you've  cried  enough,  Harry.  I'm 
not  angry  with  you,  by  any  means.  I'm  only 
sorry  that  you  did  such  a  wicked  thing  as  to 
tempt  your  friend  to  keep  what  was  not  his 
own.  I'm  afraid  that  of  the  two,  yours  was  the 
greater  sin  in  God's  sight." 

"  Yes,  papa,  though  I  didn't  think  what  I 
was  doing  then." 

"  Now  what  do  you  want  me  to  do,  Harry  ?" 
said  the  father,  stroking  his  son's  hair  affec- 
tionally,  and  feeling  very  happy  to  find  that  his 
boy  had  such  a  warm  heart. 

"  To  get  Joe  out  of  that  dreadful  lock-up, 
papa.  He'll  be  so  lonesome  and  deserted  there. 
And  I  know  that  that  cross  Captain  thinks  him 
guilty!" 

"  Have  you  been  there  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Thorpe, 
getting  up  and  locking  drawers  and  safe. 

"  Yes,  and  'he  is  such  a  disagreeable  man ! 
He  said  that  Joe  couldn't  be  let  out  till  —  till 
the  old  gentleman  came  back  who  owned  the 
cup." 


THE  PRISONER'S  FRIENDS.  203 

"  Well,  Harry,  we'll  go  and  see  about  it," 
said  the  father,  putting  on  his  overcoat; 
'  mamma  and  Sophy  will  wonder  what  has 
token  us,  I  supppse,  but  we'll  try  to  spend  a 
few  minutes  with  the  Captain.  Come,"  and 
they  left  the  counting-room.  Weston  saw 
father  and  son  pass  out,  and  thought  to  himself 
— "  Master  Harry  carries  out  a  shorter  face 
than  -he  carried  in.  He's  been  getting  the 
right  side  of  the  old  gentleman." 

Through  the  wind  they  went  —  straight  to 
Headquarters.  The  Captain  —  very  suave  and 
polite  to  the  rich  merchant  —  informed  them 
that  Joe  was  strongly  suspected  of  stealing  the 
cup  from  the  old  gentleman's  valise ;  that  the 
charge  was  quite  a  serious  one,  and  must  ba 
investigated  ;  that  he  should  be  most  happy  to 
accommodate,  but  really,  under  the  circum- 
stances, he  couldn't  think  of  letting  the  boy  go. 
He  must  stay  till  the  owner  of  the  cup  arrived, 
and  if  he  chose  to  let  him  go,  why,  all  well  and 


204  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

•  good ;  but  till   that   time   he   must   remain   a 
prisoner. 

"You  hear  what  he  says,  Harry?"  said 
Mr.  Thorpe.  Yes,  Harry  heard,  and  was 
despondent. 

"  But,  papa,"  said  he,  an  instant  after, 
"  why  can't  he  be  shut  up  here,  instead  of  in 
that  dreadful  lock-up  ?  " 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  Thorpe,  "can't  you  confine 
him  in  a  better  place  than  that,  Captain  ?  " 

That  worthy  meditated  a  few  moments,  then 
said  — 

"  Well,  as  a  particular  favor  to  you,  Mr. 
Thorpe,  I'll  send  down  and  have  the  boy 
brought  up  here.  He  can  lodge  tolerably 
comfortable  a  night  or  two  I  should  imagine." 

'•'  O  good  !  "  cried  Harry,  "  and  send  for 
him  now,  won't  you,  Captain  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  the  officer,  good-humoredly, 
"  I'll  send  for  him  now.  Tom,  you  sleepy 
head,  go  down  to  the  lock-up  and  fetch  up  that 


THE    PRISONER'S    FRIENDS.  Z'Jo 

litde  chap  you  took  down  this  morning.     Stir 
yourself!" 

"  Now  Harry,"  said  Mr.  Thorpe,  "  we'll  go 
home  to  supper.  Mamma  and  —  " 

"  O  papa,"  interrupted  the  son,  "  mayn't  I 
stay  till  —  till  Joe  comes  ?  You  can  go  home 
to  tea  and  leave  me  here,  and  after  I've  seen 
him  I'll  come  just  as  fast  as  I  can  run." 

"  And  eat  your  supper  all  alone,  boy  ? " 
said  the  father,  smiling. 

"Yes,  papa ;  or  go  without  it  if  you'll  let 
me  stay." 

"  Stay  then,  Harry,"  said  Mr.  Thorpe,  and 
thanking  the  Captain  for  his  kindness,  went 
out. 

Now  this  Captain  of  Police  had  taken  a 
fancy  to  the  merchant's  son.  He  liked  him 
for  his  perseverance,  and  for  what  —  in  the 
Captain's  vocabulary  —  was  termed  "spunk." 
And  not  being  very  busy,  he  left  the  desk  and 
came  out  to  the  chair  in  which  Harry  sat. 


206  MR.  PE^DLETON'S  CUP. 

"  Had  your  own  way  in  spite  of  me,  didn't 
you?"  said  he,  laughing;  "well,  I  like  to  see 
a  boy  stick  to  a  thing,  even  if  I  do  come  out 
second-best.  Now  I  really  wish,  for  your 
sake,  that  this  little  chap  was  innocent." 

"  He  is  innocent,"  said  Harry ;  "  do  you 
think  I'd  lie  about  it  ?  " 

"Why  —  no  —  but  you  might  be  deceived 
yourself,  you  see,"  said  the  Captain. 

"  How  can  I  ?  "  said  Harry  ;  "  I  saw  him 
two  minutes  after  he  picked  it  up.  I  know 
the  very  spot  in  the  walk  where  it  was  found, 
—  right  by  a  little  step  where  an  old  gentle- 
man who  was  coming  up  the  street  stumbled. 
I  think  he  lost  it  out  of  his  valise." 

"  How  could  that  be  ?  "  asked  the  Captain, 
feigning  ignorance  of  all  the  particulars. 

"  Why,  sir,"  said  Harry,  "  the  bag  was 
open !  —  and  the  old  man  acted  as  if  he  were 
crazy." 

"  Wei],  he's  right  there,"  thought  the  Cap- 


THE  PRISONER'S  FRIENDS.  207 

tain ;   then   aloud  — "  What   kind   of    an   old 
gentleman  was  it  ?  " 

"  Oh,  sir,  a  queer  one !  he  had  oil  the 
drollest  old  cloak  and  hat  you  ever  saw,  and 
carried  a  white-headed  cane." 

"  That's  the  very  man,  sure  enough  ! " 
thought  the  Captain  in  surprise ;  then  again : 
"You  say  he  stumbled.  What  did  he  stumble 
over  ?  —  and  give  me  all  the  particulars,  if  you 
please.  Your  story  sounds  plausible." 

Harry  took  heart,  and  related  all  the  circum- 
stances, —  how  Joe  and  he  were  standing  at 
the  gate  in  the  ^prilight ;  how  the  old  gentle- 
man who  was  coming  up  the  walk  failed  to 
perceive  the  little  step  and  consequently 
stumbled  and  fell,  and  all  those  particulars 
with  which  we  are  already  familiar. 

"  Well,"  said  the  Captain  cautiously,  "  that's 
a  pretty  smooth  story,  and  I'll  think  about  it. 
One  can't —  " 

The  opening  door  cut  short  the  last  remark 


208  MR.  PEXDLETON'S  CUP. 

which  that  gentleman  was  about  to  make, 
Policeman  Tom  entered,  and  Joe  was  with  him. 
The  Captain  missed  the  boy  at  his  side,  looked 
about,  and  saw  two  lads  standing  by  the  door, 
—  both  of  them  very  silent. 

"  Oh,  ho!  "  said  he,  "you've  got  back  little 
chap,  have  you?  Come  up  here  and  warmi 
you,  sir." 

"Yes,  Joe,  come  and  warm  you,"  said 
Harry,  tenderly,  "  you're  'most  froze  in  this 
wind.'  And  with  this  he  led  his  friend  up  to 
the  gloomy  stove,  gave  him  the  chair  in  which 
he  had  been  sitting,  and  hovered  about  him  — 
acting  the  part  of  Good  Samaritan  generally. 
"  O,  Joe  !  "  said  he  in  a  whisper,  leaning  on 
the  arm-chair,  "  I  didn't  desert  you,  indeed  I 
didn't!  I  only  got  your  note  to-night  — 
almost  dark.  But  the  Captain  has  promised  — 
though  he  can't  let  you  out,  that  you  shall 
stay  in  this  nice  warm  room  all  night,  and 
to  morrow  the  old  gentleman  is  coming,  and 


THE  PRISONER'S  FRIENDS.  209 

then  we'll  have  everything  all  right.  Papa 
will  help,  Joe !  —  he  can  do  it.'* 

Long  he  lingered  about  his  friend,  offering 
such  consolation  and  encouragement  as  was 
most  grateful  to  Joe's  troubled  heart.  The 
Captain  looked  on  amused  and  smiling. 

"  Well,  little  chap,"  said  he  at  last,  address- 
ing Joe,  "  what' 11  you  take  for  that  friend  of 
yours  ?  I'd  like  such  a  one  to  help  me,  when 
I  get  into  trouble.  Come,  I'll  pay  high  for 
him." 

But  Joe  was  deaf  to  this  bit  of  pleasantry,  — 
having  ears  only  for  Harry's  words.  At  last, 
Harry  remembered  that  he  must  not  stay  late, 
and  bidding  his  friend  good-night,  and  promis- 
ing to  come  again  early  in  the  morning,  he  ran 
home  very  buoyant-hearted. 

The  telegram  which  the  Captain  sent  flash- 
ing over  the  rivers  reached  Darnleigh,  of 
course,  long  before  Mr.  Pendleton.  Imagine 


210  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

then,  the  old  gentleman's  astonishment,  when> 
on  reaching  home,  he  found  this  bit  of  news 
waiting  for  him : 

"  WAYNETHORPE,  FRIDAY  MORN. 
Jno.  Pendleton — Sir — Cup  all  right.     Come 
on  and  prove  property. 

CAPT.  POLICE. 

At  first  he  could  not  believe  his  eyes. 
Why,  he  had  left  Waynethorpe  that  very 
morning,  and  here  was  a  telegram  which  had 
been  waiting  six  hours,  so  old  Kate  informed 
him. 

"  Ah,  my  good  Kate,"  said  he,  thrusting  the 
despatch  into  his  waistcoat  pocket,  "  I  care  not 
for  this  cup.  Give  me  my  supper  directly,  for 
I  am  nearly  famished.  Thou  knowest  not 
what  I  have  endured  these  three  days." 

Doubtless  the  old  gentleman  thought  he 
knew  his  own  heart,  but  you  will  presently 
Bee  that  he  did  not.  Old  Kate  made  all  haste, 


THE  PRISONER'S  FRIENDS.  211 

and  soon  supper  was  spread  upon  a  little  table 
in  the  cabinet.  Mr.  Pendleton  sniffed  the 
odorous  steam  of  the  tea,  and  rubbed  his  hands 
contentedly  together,  and  looked  around  him 
upon  the  familiar  walls  with  an  air  of  the 
keenest  enjoyment,  and  straightway  fell  into 
such  a  delicious  reverie  as  he  had  not  enjoyed 
before  in  three  days  at  least,  —  the  whole  sum 
and  substance  of  which  was  that  "  There's  no 
place  like  Home." 

In  this  happy  frame  of  mind  he  took  his 
seat  at  the  little  table,  and  between  alternate 
sips  of  tea,  mouthfuls  of  bread-and-butter,  and 
snatches  at  the  Tacigraphon  —  which  he  held 
in  his  lap  —  came  at  last  to  be  in  a  very  com- 
fortable state  of  both  mind  and  body.  And 
when  tea  was  carried  away,  and  he  was  seated 
in  the  dear  easy-chair  once  more,  with  the 
great  volume  open  before  him,  you  will  not  be 
surprised  to  find  that  his  antiquarian  spirit 
came  slowly  back  to  him.  He  began  1,o  lose 


212  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CLP. 

sight  of  past  discomforts  in  his  present  happi- 
ness, and  to  think — between  the  paragraphs 
of  the  Tacigraphon  —  that  the  silver  cup  was 
a  little  too  good  to  be  lost  after  all. 

"  I  will  not  be  so  hasty,"  said  he  to  himself, 
after  the  quarter  part  of  the  evening  had 
flown  ;  "  I  will  think  over  the  matter  a  little, 
and  see  what  is  best.  To  have  to  make 
another  journey  will  be  bad,  but  I  need  stay 
but  one  night  and  the  time  will  pass  speedily. 
I  will  think  of  it !  "  (You  see  the  old  gentle- 
man had  forgotten  the  day  of  the  week,  and 
was  entirely  unconscious  that  he  should  have 
to  stay  over  the  Sabbath  if  he  went.  But  this 
absence  of  mind  was  most  fortunate  for  poor 
Joe  Gray,  for  had  the  old  gentleman  had  his 
wits  about  him  he  would  never  have  under- 
taken the  journey  with  the  prospect  of  having 
to  make  such  a  long  stay.) 

The  result  of  his  deliberations  you  may  well 
guess.  He  went.  And  the  train  reached 


THE  PRISONER'S  FRIENDS.  213 

Waynethorpe  in  safety,  and  the  old  gentleman 
got  out  at  the  bustling  station  in  the  pleasant 
afternoon  sunshine,  to  find  Mr.  Harvey  wait- 
ing for  him.  That  gentleman  could  not  refrain 
from  smiling  at  seeing  his  old  friend  back  so 
soon. 

"  Why,"  said  he,  "  I  thought  you  were  dis- 
gusted with  Waynethorpe  entirely  !  I  doubt- 
ed whether  you  would  really  answer  the  sum- 
mons." 

At  which,  a  little  smile  actually  tugged  at 
the  down-curved  wrinkles  of  the  old  man's 
face,  and  he  said  — 

"  Thou  knowest  I  am  but  a  foolish  old  man, 
friend  Harvey." 

Then  a  cab  was  called,  and  they  trundled 
off  toward  the  Police  Headquarters,  —  the  old 
gentleman  quite  in  ecstacies  at  the  prospect 
of  speedily  beholding  his  treasure  again. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

NEW     POSSESSIONS. 

T  the  Headquarters  that  afternoon, 
when  the  cab  rolled  up  to  the  door, 
there  were  the  Captain,  the  usual 
amount  of  policemen  around  the  stove, 
and  Joe  and  Harry.  Harry's  father  had  given 
him  permission  to  spend  the  afternoon  with  his 
friend,  and  the  two  boys  had  long  been  anxious- 
ly waiting  the  old  gentleman's  arrival. 

An  anxious  waiting  it  could  not  but  be,  for 
the  two  friends  had  reason  to  fear  that  Mr. 
Pendleton  would  insist  on  having  Joe  tried  for 
theft.  And  now,  when  the  sound  of  the  cab- 
driver's  "  whoa !  "  was  heard  without,  Harry 
whispered  —  "  Keep  up  good  courage,  Joe,  and 
214 


NEW   POSSESSIONS.  215 

it'll  all  be  right.  We  shall  know  it  all  in  a  few 
minutes," 

The  door  opened,  and  in  walked  Mr.  Harvey, 
followed  by  the  old  gentleman  in  the  ancient 
cloak  and  queer  hat,  —  the  identical  garments 
in  which  the  boys  had  seen  him  dressed. 

"Yes!  that's  he!  —  that's  the  very  one!" 
cried  Harry  in  a  whisper  to  the  Captain ;  "I 
should  know  him  anywhere.  And  there's  the 
black  valise  and  white-headed  cane." 

"Good  afternoon  Mr.  Pendleton,"  said  the 
Captain,  bowing  blandly  ;  "  happy  to  see  you, 
sir!  —  very  happy  indeed.  Hope  you  had  a 
comfortable  journey." 

"  Quite  tolerable,"  replied  the  old  gentleman, 
somewhat  impatiently ;  his  eyes  rambling 
searchingly  around  the  room.  But  the  Cap- 
tain was  in  no  hurry  to  gratify  his  curiosity. 

"  You've  had  to  travel  about  considerably  of 
late,"  he  continued ;  u  hope  so  much  jolting 
and  jarring  won't  hurt  you  !  " 


216  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

44  No  !  no !  "  cried  the  old  man,  hurriedly, 
"  I'm  quite  well.  I  want  to  see  the  cup,  —  my 
cup,  sir !  " 

Just  then  the  door  opened  and  Mr.  Thorpe 
came  in.  Harry  went  and  stood  by  his  side, 
to  get  a  renewal  of  the  premise  of  aid  in  case  it 
was  needed ;  and  at  this  moment  the  Captain 
brought  forward  the  treasure  from  some  hidden 
corner  of  his  desk,  and  placed  it  upon  the  ledge 
of  one  of  the  broad  windows. 

Down  went  the  antiquary's  cane  and  valise 
with  a  clatter,  and  the  quaint  cloak  swung  off 
to  one  side,  and  rushing  forward  the  old'  gen- 
tleman grasped  his  cup  with  an  exclamation  of 
pleasure.  Fondly  he  gazed  upon  its  glittering 
work  —  his  eyes  twinkling  with  delight  — 
peered  into  its  burnished  hollow,  and  rubbed 
the  ancient  Z  with  his  fingers.  Then  he  put  it; 
down,  took  two  or  three  little  steps  backward, 
viewed  it  a  moment  from  this  new  point  of 
view,  rushed  to  the  window  again  to  fondle  it 


NEW   POSSESSIONS.  217 

and  breathe  upon  it,  and  behave  in  a  manner 
that  was  altogether  very  ludicrous.  The  Cap- 
tain laughed  aloud,  and  every  one  smiled  but 
Joe. 

"  O,  you  beauty !  "  eried  the  old  gentleman, 
admiringly ;  "  saw  you  ever  such  silver-work, 
gentlemen  ?  —  such  pitted  stems  !  such  veined 
leaves  !  such  massy  knots  of  fruit !  —  and  this 
frost-work  was  done  by  no  other  than  a  cunning 
workman.  Alas  !  it  was  an  evil  day  when  I 
lost  it." 

"  Evil  for  more  than  one,"  thought  poor  Joe 
to  himself,  as  he  watched  the  speaker's  per- 
formances. And  while  Mr.  Pendleton  was 
making  such  show  of  ecstasy,  Harry  stole 
across  the  room  to  whisper  in  Joe's  ear  — 

"  Keep  up  good  courage  !  he  don't  look  like 
a  cross  man  at  all,  come  to  get  him  where  it's 

light." 

Mr.  Pendleton  was  certainly  far  from  being 
cross  at  that  moment.  Very  likely  —  had  it 


218  MR.  PEXDLETON'S  CUP. 

been  possible  —  his  face  would  have  shown 
with  smiles  and  good-natured  dimples,  and  as 
it  was  he  looked  quite  mild  and  benevolent. 

"  Well,"  said  the  Captain,  shortly,  "  havn't 
we  been  expeditious  ?  The  reward  was  of- 
fered only  day  before  yesterday,  and  now 
here's  your  cup  —  safe  and  sound." 

The  old  gentleman  nodded  assent,  and  pres- 
ently asked  —  "  Who  got  the  reward  ?  " 

"  Well,"  said  the  Captain,  "  there's  no  one 
got  it  yet.  You  see,  sir,  we've  had  a  little 
difficulty  in  the  matter.  The  cup  was  brought 
in  yesterday  morning  by  that  little  chap  sitting 
by  the  stove,  and  we  couldn't  quite  clear 
matters  up  till  you  came." 

Mr.  Pendleton  gave  Joe  an  indifferent 
glance  from  under  his  shaggy  eye-brows,  and 
then  turned  fondly  to  his  cup  again.  It  was 
very  clear  that  he  wanted  to  talk  upon  no 
other  subject.  But  the  Captain  of  Police  was 
intent  upon  settling  up  matters  at  once. 


NEW   POSSESSIONS.  219 

"  And,  sir,"  continued  he  politely,  "  if  you 
and  these  gentleman  present  will  be  so  good  as 
to  be  seated,  we'll  try  to  smooth  things  out  a 
little.  What  do  you  say,  gentleman  ?  " 

Mr.  Thorpe  and  Mr.  Harvey  signified  their 
assent  by  taking  seats,  and  the  old  gentleman 
could  do  no  less.  He  dropped  into  a  seat  by 
Harry  and  his  father.  And  being  all  seated, 
the  Captain,  eager  for  business,  said  — 

"  Now,  gentlemen,  we'll  go  ahead.  Come, 
master  Joe,  now  for  your  story.  Stand  up, 
and  give  us  all  the  particulars,  and  don't  be 
afraid  of  anybody.  All  the  particulars,  re- 
member. Mr.  Pendleton,  please  notice  wheth- 
er his  statement  agrees  with  what  you  remem- 
ber of  the  affair.  Go  ahead,  Joe  !  " 

Joe  stood  up  by  his  chair,  and  commenced 
his  story.  His  voice  trembled  somewhat  at 
first,  but  getting  used  to  the  unwonted  silence, 
and  receiving  many  encouraging  glances  from 
Harry,  he  was  at  last  enabled  to  recite  the 


220  MR.    PENDLETON'S    CUP. 

circumstances  clearly  and  plainly.  And  the 
Captain  interrupted  not  once.  When  Joe  sat 
down,  he  said  — 

"Now  master  Harry,  let's  hear  your  ac- 
count. Give  us  all  the  particulars  !  " 

Harry  stood  up  by  his  father's  side,  and 
commenced  his  account  of  the  affair,  and  you 
may  be  sure  the  Captain  kept  both  ears  open 
to  find  some  discrepancy  in  their  statements. 
In  the  midst  of  the  narrative  he  interrupted 
with  — 

"  Goodness  !  look  at  the  old  gentleman,  will 
you?  —  I'll  be  shot  if  he  isn't . sound  asleep! 
—  and  all  these  things  being  told  for  his 
benefit! " 

Yes,  the  combined  influence  of  fatigue,  and 
the  warm  fire  before  which  he  sat,  had  made 
the  old  gentleman's  head  droop  on  his  breast, 
and  there  he  sat  —  entirely  unconscious  of  what 
was  being  done.  The  Captain  looked  half- 
tuagry,  half-amused. 


NEW    POSSESSIONS.  221 

"  I  declare  I  "  said  he,  biting  his  lip,  "  I've  a 
good  mind  to  throw  up  the  whole  business,  and 
let  the  old  gent  guess  whether  his  cup  was  lost 
or  stolen !  " 

But  Mr.  Thorpe  interposed,  with  — 

"  No !  go  on.  This  boy's  character  must  be 
cleared  now.  If  Mr.  Pendleton  doesn't  care,  I 
do.  I  insist  that  the  investigation  go  on  I " 

Harry  pressed  his  father's  hand  gratefully 
for  these  words,  and  continued  his  narrative 
after  Mr.  Harvey  had  waked  his  sleepy  friend. 
When  Harry  had  done,  and  it  was  found  that 
the  boys'  stories  agreed  perfectly,  the  Captain 
said, 

"  So  far,  it's  all  clear,  I  think.  Now,  Mr. 
Pendleton,  let  us  hear  your  account  of  the 
matter.  Give  us  all  the  particulars." 

But  before  he  had  time  to  speak,  the  door 
opened,  and  there  entered  —  Jumper  !  Not 
Jumper  the  good-natured,  easy  carpenter,  but 


222  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

Jumper  red-faced   and  cross,  and   much  the 
worse  for  liquor. 

"  Oh,  you  little  villian ! "  said  he,  angrily, 
marching  straight  up  to  Joe,  "  this  is  what  it's 
come  to,  is  it  ?  This  is  the  pay  for  taking  a 
good-fur-nothin'  scamp  out  o'  the  street  and 
bringin'  him  up  in  an  honest  family,  eh  ? 
Yes,  in  the  bosom  of  an  honest  family  !  with 
plenty  to  eat  and  drink  —  even  tho*  it  took 
victuals  out  of  the  mouths  of  our  own  young 
uns  ?  This  is  the  pay  is  it  ?  "  trying  to  get 
Joe  by  the  collar. 

But  the  Captain  got  up  and  thrust  Jumper 
into  a  chair,  saying  — 

"Who  be  you,  sir?" 

"  Who  be  I  ? "  said  Jumper,  somewhat 
startled,  —  "  why,  I'm  Thomas  Jumper,  and 
that  little  villian  there  in  that  chair  has  been 
nourished  in  my  family  —  viper  !  and  now  he's 
been  stealing,  they  tell  me,  and  bringin'  a  bad 
name  onto  a  poor  man  like  I  be,  and  I  —  " 


NEW   POSSESSIONS.  223 

"  No  more  !  "  said  the  Captain,  in  his  most 
frigid  tones  ;  "  do  you  sit  here  till  I  give  you 
leave  to  get  up,  and  if  you  make  a  breath  of 
noise  I'll  —  "  The  threat  was  left  unfinished, 
but  enough  was  implied  by  the  tone  to  keep 
Jumper  silent.  Then  the  Captain  went  back 
to  business,  saying  —  "  Now  we'll  hear  you, 
Mr.  Pendleton." 

Jumper's  sudden  appearance  had  wrought 
one  good,  at  any  rate,  for  it  had  thoroughly 
aroused  the  old  gentleman  from  his  drowsiness. 

He  looked  at  Joe,  then  at  the  listeners  ranged 

» 
around,  and  enquired  — 

"  Is  that  boy  charged  with  stealing  the 
cup  ?  "  pointing  to  Joe. 

The  Captain  looked  disgusted. 

"  Of  course  he  is  !  "  he  answered  tartly ; 
"  are  you  on  earth,  or  where,  sir  ?  Excuse 
me,  gentlemen,  but  really  I  never  saw  such  an 
absent-minded  person !  This  boy,  Mr.  Pen* 
dleton,  was  hold  for  stealing  your  cup,  and  fa: 


224  MR.  PEKDLETON'S  CUP. 

the  last  three-quarters  of  an  hour  we've  been 
trying  to  find  out  something  about  it.  I've 
about  made  up  my  mind  that  he  isn't  guilty, 
after  all,  and  —  " 

"  Humph  !  "  said  the  old  gentleman,  "  I 
know  he  isn't !  Does  he  say  that  he  found 
it?" 

"  Yes,"  answered  the  Captain. 

"  Then  of  course  he  did,"  said  Mr.  Pendle- 
ton,  "  and  I  suppose  you've  paid  him  the  re- 
ward. He  looks  as  if  he  needed  it,  —  poor 
little  boy." 

The  Captain  looked  from  one  to  the  other  of 
the  gentlemen  in  despair. 

"  I  really  believe  the  old  chap's  crazy  ! "  said 
he,  aside  to  Mr.  Harvey ;  "  at  any  rate  I  can't 
do  anything  with  him.  I  give  it  up  !  " 

"  Well."  said  Mr.  Thorpe,  "  are  you  satisfied 
of  Joe's  innocence  ?  " 

"Well  —  yes,"  said  the  Captain.  "I'm 
quite  certain  that  he  found  it,  and  I  congrat- 


NEW   POSSESSIONS.  225 

ulate  the  old  gentleman,  here,  that  it  fell  into 
so  honest  a  pair  of  hands.  Look  here,  little 
chap,"  turning  to  Joe,  "  didn't  I  tell  you  that 
innocent  folks  didn't  get  shut  up,  and  hasn't  it 
come  true  ?  " 

Just  here,  Jumper,  who  had  been  edging  un- 
seen towards  the  stove,  came  out  again  upon 
Joe. 

"  Needn't  think  ye  can  come  back  to  our 
house  again,  for  ye  can't.  We're  honest  folks, 
and  don't  have  no  thieves  around  us.  Don't 
ye  come  there,  for  we  won.'t  let  ye  in.  Mrs. 
Jumper  said,  says  she  — '  He  can't  have 
another  mouthful  nor  another  lodgin'  under 
this  roof! '  and  I  say  so  too.  We  cast  you  off! 
won't  have  you  !  don't  you  come  with  us  !  " 

You  may  imagine  how  Joe  felt  to  be  thus 
disowned  by  one  who  had  befriended  him  so 
Jong. 

"  O,  Jumper !  "  said  he  brokenly,  "don't  say 
it !  I  didn't  do  it,  —  they'll  tell  you  so  !  " 


226  MR.    PENDLETOX'S    CUP. 

"  Don't  ^are  nothin'  'bout  that,  we've  clonp 
with  ye  forever.  Ye  aint  a-going  to  get 
another  meal  nor  nothin'  to  our  house,  and 
there's  the  end  on't !  "  cried  the  carpenter,  very 
wrathfully;  and  then  seeing  that  the  Captain 
was  again  about  to  interfere,  he  left  the  Office. 
Joe  being  thus  left  suddenly  homeless,  wept 
somewhat.  What  should  he  do  ?  Where 
could  he  go  ? 

Harry  left  his  chair  and  came  around  to  take 
Joe's  hands,  and  whisper  —  "Now  don't  cry 
one  bit,  for  there's  no  need  of  it.  If  there's  no 
other  way,  I  know  papa  will  take  care  of  you, 
and  oh,  wouldn't  it  be  glorious,  Joe,  to  live 
together,  —  you  and  I  ?  " 

Of  course  it  would ;  but  Joe  had  not  much 
faith  that  it  would  be  thus.  Mr.  Pendleton, 
who  had  been  a  silent  observer  of  all  that  had 
passed,  now  asked  — 

"  Whose  boy  is  that  ?  "  pointing  to  Joe. 

"  Well,"  replied   the  Captain  soberly,    i4  he 


NEW   POSSESSIONS.  227 

doesn't  seem  to  belong  to  anybody,  just  now, 
That's  what's  the  matter." 

"  Ah  ? "  said  the  old  gentleman,  "  well, 
that's  funny.  Come  here,  my  lad.'' 

Joe  obeyed,  —  not  without  feeling  somewhat 
awed  by  the  old  man's  strange  looks  and  ap- 
pearance, and  the  gentlemen  and  Harry  looked 
on  in  surprise. 

u  Gray  eyes,  lightish  hair,  thin  face,"  mused 
Mr.  Pendleton,  quite  as  if  he  had  no  listeners  ; 
"  not  exactly  what  my  Willie  would  have  been, 
but  then  —  he's  something  like.  What's  your 
name,  my  lad  ?  " 

"  Joe." 

"  Joe,  eh  ?  Humph !  that  isn't  so  pretty  as 
Willie,  —  not  half  so  pretty.  How  wonld  you 
like  to  be  called  Willie,  my  boy  ?  " 

Joe's  eyes  opened  to  their  widest  extent  with 
amazement,  as  did  Harry's ;  while  the  gentle- 
men exchanged  glances,  as  much  as  to  say  — 
"  He  is  a  little  crazed. 


228  MR.    PENDLETOX'S    CUP. 

But  you  see,  they  knew  nothing  of  his  little 
Willie.  How  should  they  ?  but  presently  they 
found  that  there  "  was  method  in  his  mad- 
ness," after  all.  . 

"Well,  continued  Mr.  Pendleton,  turning 
Joe  round  and  round  as  if  he  were  some  old 
relic  whose  merits  he  was  bound  to  find,  — 
"  my  Willie  would  have  been  taller  than  this, 
it  seems  to  me,  but — Could  you  feed  doves, 
think  you?  "  he  suddenly  asked. 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Joe,  looking  beseechingly 
at  his  friends. 

"  What's  the  old  fellow  driving  at,  any- 
how ?  "  queried  the  Captain,  aside. 

"  Wait,"  said  Mr.  Harvey,  "  and  I  suspect 
we  shall  see,  presently."" 

A  dead  silence  fell  upon  the  company,  in 
which  Mr.  Pendleton  buried  his  face  in  his 
hands,  and  mused.  Presently  he  looked  up 
and  actually  smiled  in  spite  of  the  rigid 
wrinkles,  and  with  this  unusual  expression 
upon  his  aged  countenance  he  said  — 


NBW    POSSESSIONS.  229 

"  Will  you  go  and  be  my  Willie  —  my 
boy?" 

A  startled  "O-h-h-I"  escaped  Harry's  lips, 
in  spite  of  himself,  and  the  gentlemen  were 
quite  as  much  astonished,  though  they  had 
better  control  over  their  feelings. 

u  I'll  be  shot,"  said  the  Captain,  "  if  the 
cup  business  hasn't  gone  ahead  of  everything, 
from  first  to  last,  that  ever  I  heard  of !  " 

What  could  Joe  do?  The  old  gentleman 
was  looking  with  his  keen  eyes  straight  into 
his,  and  all  were  waiting  for  his  answer.  He 
did  not  quite  dare  to  look  around  at  Harry, 
and  after  a  few  minutes  of  silent  hesitation,  he 
said  in  a  low  voice  —  "  Yes,  sir  —  I'll  go." 

"  Bless  you  !  "  said  Mr.  Pendleton,  with  a 
fervor  that  was  new  to  him  ;  "  now  I've  got  a 
little  boy  again,  —  my  boy!  my  Willie." 

"  O  papa  !  "  said  Harry,  in  a  whisper,  "  did 
you  ever  hear  of  such  a  thing  ?  " 

"  No,  my  son,"  said  Mr.  Thorpe,  smiling  at 


230  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

the  oddity  of  the  whole  affair,  "  I  never  heard 
of  such  a  thing  before,  but  it's  a  very  nice 
thing  to  hear  of,  I  think." 

"  Goodness  !  "  cried  the  Captain,  aside,  "  I'll 
be  bound  the  old  chap  is  sharper  than  the 
whole  of  us,  now !  Don't  you  see,  he's  got 
cup,  reward,  boy  and  all  ?  Ha  !  ha !  ha  !  —  " 
then  to  Mr.  Pendleton — "Better  have  some 
papers  made  out,  sir.  Have  it  all  straight 
with  the  law,  you  know." 

"  No,  no !  "  said  the  old  gentleman,  shaking 
his  head  vigorously,  u  I  call  all  these  gentle- 
men to  witness  that  I  adopt  this  boy  as  my 
own,  —  as  my  son,  and  heir  to  all  my 
property." 

"  Good  for  you  !  "  cried  the  Captain,  enthu- 
siastically ;  this  to  Joe  — u  Now,  little  chap, 
see  what  a  good  thing  'twas  that  I  held  on  to 
you  I  Why,  if  I'd  have  given  you  the  reward 
you'd  have  run  off  and  spent  it,  and  there'd 
ha'  been  the  end  of  it ;  but  now  you've  got  a 


NEW    POSSESSIONS.  201 

nice  home,  a  bran  new  father,  and  everything 
to  match  !  Hurrah,  Master  Joe  Pendleton  !  " 

"  No,  no  !  "  said  the  old  man  hurriedly, 
«  call  him  Willie  !  Willie  I  " 

At  which  the  gentlemen  looked  surprised, 
but  thought  it  only  one  of  the  whims  of  which 
the  old  head  was  so  full.  And  thus  Joe  was 
adopted,  and  suddenly  brought  into  possession 
of  a  home  and  a  father. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

CONCLUSION. 

company  at  the  Police  Office  now 
broke  up  and  went  to  their  respective 
homes,  —  Mr.  Pendleton  and  his  two 
new  possessions  going  home  with  Mr. 
Harvey,  and  the  Captain  went  back  to  his 
desk  and  papers  exclaiming  — 

"  Well,  I  never  saw  such  a  fizzle  of  a  case 
as  this  has  been  —  never !  Between  the  old 
gent  and  those  two  boys,  it's  been  a  pretty 
muddle  from  beginning  to  end." 

Yet  when  the  grim  Captain  had  got  fairly  at 
work  at  his  papers,  he  stopped  to  think  over 
the  whole  matter  ao;ain  and  to  lauo;h  over  it 


CONCLUSION.  233 

for  tli3  tenth  rr  twentieth  time.  And  at  heart 
he  was  really  pleased  with  Joe's  good  fortune. 

As  for  Harry  Thorpe,  he  did  not  know 
whether  to  laugh  or  cry ;  but  concluded  at  last 
to  consider  it  a  very  fortunate  circumstance. 
As  for  Joe  himself,  he  was  at  a  loss  what  to 
say  or  do,  or  to  think,  even.  He  stood  in  awe 
of  the  old  gentleman,  and  was  not  at  all  sure 
that  he  could  even  like  him. 

Mr.  Pendleton,  for  a  wonder,  was  quite  re- 
signed to  staying  over  the  Sabbath,  and  com- 
plained not  of  inconvenience  or  fatigue.  He 
followed  Joe  with  his  eyes  wherever  the  boy 
went,  and  it  was  not  without  some  difficulty 
that  he  got  permission  to  go  and  bid  his  friend 
Harry  good-bye  on  the  evening  before  their 
departure..  But  just  as  Joe  was  going  down 
the  steps  of  Mr.  Harvey's  residence,  whpm 
should  he  meet  but  Harry  ?  —  and  found  that 
his  friend  had  come  to  bid  farewell  to  him. 

"  Come,'7  said  Joe,  as  soon  as  they  had  wel- 


234  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

corned  each  other,  "let's  go  in.  I  want  you 
to  see  my  new  —  father." 

"No,"  said  Harry,  "stay  here,  Joe.  I 
don't  want  to  see  him,  for  somehow  he  makes 
me  feel  dreadful  uncomfortable.  I  don't  like 
to  look  at  him." 

To  which  Joe  replied,  smiling — 

"I  didn't  like  to  look  at  him  yesterday,  but 
to-day  he  seems  different  to  me,  somehow^ 
And  oh  !  he  isn't  cross  a  bit,  Harry." 

"  Isn't  he  ?  "  said  Harry,  looking  incredu- 
lous, "  why,  I  shouldn't  think  he  could  help  it, 
—  he  looks  so  !  But  if  he's  good  to  you,  I'm 
glad.  O,  Joe,  aren't  you  sorry  to  go  ?  " 

The  sudden  mist  which  gathered  in  JOL  s 
eyes  was  a  truthful  answer.  He  turned  awa^ 
his  head  and  looked  down  the  street,  while  his 
lips  quivered.  And  though  Harry  was  just  as 
sorry  too,  he  was  fain  to  offer  consolation  in 
this  wise  : 

"  It'll  be  such  a  nice  home  for  you,  Joe," 


CONCLUSION.  235 

said  he  bravely  ;  "  and  you  can  go  to  school  no\* 
as  much  as  you  like,  and  have  everything  you 
want ;  and  I  think  just  as  papa  does  that  it's  a 
splendid  chance  for  you." 

"I  suppose  it  is,"  said  Joe,  with  an  effort; 
"  at  any  rate  I  mean  to  do  my  best,  and  try  to 
like  the  old  gentleman." 

"  And  then,"  continued  Harry,  "  you  can 
come  back  here  sometimes,  and  see  us  all,  and 
I  can  conte  and  see  you  !  And  then  there's  a 
comfort  in  letters,  anyhow,  for  we  can  write 
then  as  often  as  we  like,  can't  we,  Joe  ?  ' 

"  Y— e— s,"  said  Joe,  "  but  that  won't  be  like 
seeing  you !  " 

Harry's  eyes  twinkled  at  this,  and  he  said  — 

"  What'll  you  give  to  carry  me  with  you, 
Joe  ?  " 

"  Carry  you  with  me  ?  why,  I  don't  under- 
stand !  How  could  I  take  you  with  me, 
Harry  ?  "  looking  doubtful. 

"  O,   there's    a   way !     Can't    you   guess  ? 


236  MR.    PENDLETOX'S    CUP. 

Well,  if  you  can't,  look  here,"  and  Harry  drevc 
something  from  his  overcoat  pocket. 

Joe  came  close  to  his  friend,  and  saw  a  neat 
little  morocco  case. 

"Now  if  you  can't  guess,"  said  Harry,  "you 
must  find  out  your^lf !  "  and  with  this  he  put 

the  dainty  square  into  his  friend's  hands.     Joe 

• 
eagerly  opened  it,  and  found  — Harry  himself ! 

—  the  same  brave,  merry  head,  the  same 
curling  locks  and  frank  eyes,  whose'  counter- 
parts were  just  now  sparkling  with  pleasure. 

"  O,"  cried  Joe,  under  his  breath,  "  it's 
you  !  ''  and  could  not  look  at  it  enough 

"  Well,"  said  Harry,  at  length,  "  now  can't 
you  take  me  with  you,  Joe?  Haven't  you 
room?  " 

Joe  looked  up,  —  astonished. 

"  Why  —  you  —  you  —  don't  mean  it's  mine  ?  " 

"  Yes  I  do.  It's  yours,  to  do  what  you  like 
with !  " 

"  But,"  said  Joe,  "  what  will  your  father  and 
mother  say?  I'm  afraid  they — " 


CONCLUSION.  237 

"  Pshaw,  Joe  !  papa  gave  it  to  me  himself 
to  give  to  you,  and  he's  going  to  get  another. 
Wasn't  it  good  of  him  ?  " 

"  Yes,  it  was  too  good  of  him.  I  don't  de- 
serve such  a  nice  picture,  Harry,  and  the  only 
one  he  had  of  you  !  " 

"  Oh,  that's  nothing,  for  he  can  get  another 
easy  enough,  and  you're  just  as  welcome  to  it 
as  you  can  be  !  "  said  Harry ;  "  and  now'  if  I 
only  had  one  of  you,  we'd  be  even.  But  I  can 
wait,  I  guess,  till  you  have  time  to  get  one  in 
Darnleigh." 

Here  Joe  chanced  to  look  up  and  saw  Mr. . 
Pendleton  watching  them  at  one  of  the  front 
windows.     Harry's  eyes  followed  his  friend's, 
and  discovered  the  old  gentleman  too. 

"  I  declare  !  "  he  exclaimed,  "  I  didn't  sus- 
pect he  was  watching  us.  What  stern  eyes 
he's  got.  O,  I  hope  he'll  be  good  to  you,  Joe  ! 
and  if  he  isn't,  don't  stay  with  him  a  dajr,  for 
you  can  have  a  home  with  us.  I  really  believe 


238  MR.    PENDLETOX'S    CUP. 

if  the  old  gentleman  hadn't  spoken  just  as  he 
did,  yesterday,  papa  would  have  had  you  lived 
with  us ;  and  oh,  I  wish  it  could  have  been 
so!" 

Joe  secretly  wished  so  too,  but  said  — 

"  I  guess  it's  best  as  it  is,  Harry.  I'll  be 
happy,  I  know." 

"  Of  course,  Joe !  —  but  see  how  dark  it's 
getting,  and  the  bells  are  just  beginning  to  ring 
for  evening  service.  I  must  go  !  —  papa  won't 
like  me  to  stay  any  longer.  Now  —  " 

He  meant  to  say  good-bye,  but  Joe  looked 
.around  just  then  at  him  so  wistful  and  .so  sad. 
that  the  words  died  away  and  were  not  uttered  ; 
and  giving  his  friend's  hand  a  farewell  squeeze, 
Harry  ran  off  homeward  as  fast  as  he  could  go. 
Joe  lingered  on  the  pavement  and  watched  the 
hurrying  figure  till  it  disappeared  in  the  dusk, 
and  yet  when  it  was  quite  out  of  sight  he  still 
tarried,  watching,  —  the  heavy  clamor  of  the 
bells  filling  his  ears.  Then,  with  his  precious 
picture  in  his  jacket-pocket  he  went  in. 


CONCLUSION.  239 

The  next  morning  Mr.  Harvey's  household 
were  early  astir,  for  there  was  something  to 
be  done  to  get  the  two  journeyers  safely  on 
their  way.  Joe  had  to  be  clothed  in  new 
garments  from  head  to  foot,  and  nice,  warm 
clothes  they  were  which  the  old  gentleman 
ordered.  In  a  well-fitting  suit,  with  cap, 
overcoat,  and  boots,  Joe  looked  another  per- 
son, and  Mr.  Pendleton  was  better  pleased 
with  his  appearance  than  ever. 

And  when  the  needed  change  in  his  appear- 
ance had  been  made,  they  started  on  this 
bright  Monday  morning  for  Darnleigh,  —  the 
old  gentleman  bearing  off  his  new  possessions 
in  triumph.  We,  who  have  been  over  the 
road  before,  need  see  nothing  of  them  till  they 
arrive  safely  at  the  end  of  their  journey. 
Here  Mr.  Pendleton  left  the  depot,  —  the  cup 
safe  in  his  valise,  and  his  other  treasure  walk- 
ing beside  him, — and  proceeded  to  walk 
homeward  in  as  staid  and  orderly  manner  as 


240  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

any  one.  Joe's  eyes,  you  may  be  sure,  keenly 
surveyed  the  ancient-looking  dwelling  at  which 
they  stopped.  Mr.  Pendleton  led  the  way 
straight  to  the  front  entrance,  and  rang  a  peal 
which  I'll  warrant  the  echoing  rooms  had  not 
heard  before  in  many  a  year,  and  which 
brought  old  Kate  in  great  hurry  and  dismay 
to  see  what  was  the  matter. 

u  Lawk,  master !  "  she  cried,  when  she  had 
succeeded  in  unfastening  and  opening  the  un- 
used door,  "  is  it  you?"  and  stared  at  him  as 
if  she  thought  he  had  gone  crazy. 

"  Yes,  yes,  my  good  Kate !  "  said  the  old 
gentleman  gleefully,  "it's  me,  and  I've  brought 
you  company.  Here's  my  boy  —  my  Willie, 

—  come  to  live   with  me.     Isn't  it  a  nice  boy, 

—  and  don't  you   remember  my  little  Willie, 
good  Kate  ?  " 

"  Lawk,  yes,  master  !  "  said  the  old  house- 
keeper wonderingly,  "  but  he's  been  dead  this 
thirty  year !  " 


CONCLUSION.  241 

Whereat  the  old  gentleman  rubbed  his  fore- 
head confusedly,  and  said  — 

"Yes, — thirty-four  years  ago;  but  here's 
another  Willie  come  to  live  with  the  old  man, 
and  feed  the  doves,  and  run  about,  and  make 
the  house  pleasant.  Isn't  it  a  nice  boy, 
Kate?" 

The  housekeeper  made  a  courtesy  by  way 
of  reply,  and  led  the  way  into  the  cabinet 
where  the  afternoon  sunshine  was  streaming 
in,  and  made  the  room  look  tolerably  cheerful 
to  Joe's  wondering  eyes.  Then  she  hurried 
off  to  the  kitchen  to  bring  them  some  refresh- 
ment, whispering  into  the  darkness  of  her 
cupboard,  as  a  great  secret,  that — "  She  be- 
lieved master  had  gone  clean  crazy  this  time!" 
I  think  Joe  began  to  think  so,  too,  when 
he  saw  how  strangely  the  old  gentleman  acted 
some  of  the  time  ;  and  that  first  afternoon  he 
was  home-sick  somewhat,  for  which  we  cannot 
blame  him  much.  But  as  days  passed  away, 


242  ME.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

and  be  saw  more1  and  more  of  his  benefactor, 
and  filled  a  warmer  place  in  the  old  man's 
heart,  I  think  he  understood  him  better  than 
any  one  had  ever  done  before.  He  even 
began  to  like  the  —  But  all  this  you  shall  have 
in  words  of  his  own : 

"  DARNLEIGH,  FEB.  5th,  18  — . 
DEAR  HARRY  : 

Your  letter,  written  two  nights  after  I  left 
Waynethorpe,  got  to  me  safely,  and  oh  !  you 
can't  know  how  glad  I  was  to  get  it ;  for  you 
see,  I  was  dreadful  homesick  then,  and  almost 
starving  to  hear  from  what  was  home  a  little 
while  ago.  Now  I've  so  much  to  tell  you  that 
I  don't  know  where  to  begin  first,  but  I'll  go 
clear  back  to  the  afternoon  when  we  arrived 
here,  and  tell  you  all  about  it,  as  long  as  my 
paper  will  hold  out.  (Did  you  ever  see  such 
funny  yellow  old  paper  as  this  ?  Mr.  P.  got  it 
for  me  out  of  a  drawer  in  the  book-case,  and  I 


CONCLUSION.  243 

guoss  it's  twenty  or  thirty  years  old  from  what 
he  said  about  it.) 

Well,  we  got  to  Darnleigh  depot  safe  and 
sound,  and  walked  up  here.  I  was  surprised 
to  find  what  a  great  house  it  was  he  lived  in, 
and  it  made  me  homesick  the  first  thing,  —  it 
looked  so  gloomy  !  —  and  then  we  had  such  a 
time  getting  in  at  the  front-door.  It  hadn't 
been  opened  before  —  so  the  old  house-keeper 
told  me  afterwards  —  in  many  years,  and  it 
was  well  stuck  together,  I  can  tell  you  !  Why 
he  went  in  at  that  door  I  can't  imagine. 

Well,  after  we  got  in,  old  Kate  (his  house- 
keeper) led  us  into  a  room  which  is  called  the 
cabinet,  and  as  the  sun  shone  in  it  was  pleasant 
a  little.  It  is  crammed  so  full  of  books  that 
there's  hardly  room  to  get  about  without 
stumbling  over  'em,  and  in  here  we  had  our 
supper  —  he  and  .  I  —  and  when  we  were 
through  that  what  do  you  think  he  did  ?  Oh  ! 
you  can't  think  how  astonished  I  was,  and  T 


244  MR.    PEMJLETON'S    GUP. 

didn't  understand  it  at  all  then,  but  I  do  LJW. 
He  took  a  piece  of  bread  off  the  plate  and  said  — 
4  Come,  Willie,  it's  time  to  feed  the  doves.'  1 
didn't  know  what  to  say,  but  he  got  up  from 
the  table  and  opened  the  window,  and  said  — 
*  Here  they  are !  come  quick  ! '  and  I  looked 
out  and  there  were  great  flocks  of  the  prettiest 
doves  you  ever  saw,  right  under  the  window  ! 
4  Give  me  the  bread,'  said  I,  *  and  I'll  feed 
them.'  But  he  said  —  '  No  I  no  !  you  must 
sit  in  the  window  to  do  it !  Get  up  and  scatter 
the  crumbs  about,  and  see  how  they'll  chatter ! ' 
So  I  got  up  in  the  window-seat  and  sat  there, 
and  threw  crumbs  about  to  the  birds,  and 
called  them  ;  while  he  sat  in  his  arm-chair  and 
nodded  and  laughed,  and  said  — '  That's  right ! 
that's  right !  they  know  it's  you,  Willie  ! '  O, 
Harry,  I  can't  tell  you  how  strangely  it  made 
me  feel  to  hear  him  say  that,  and  look  at  me 
BO  I  I  certainly  thought  he  was  crazy. 

But  the  other  day  the   housekeeper  told  me 


CONCLUSION,  245 

all  about  it.  She  said  that  a  great  many  years 
ago  he  had  a  little  boy  whose  name  was  Willie, 
and  that  this  little  boy  and  his  mother  died ; 
and  one  of  this  little  fellow's  pleasures  was  to 
sit  in  the  window  and  feed  the  doves.  And 
Mr.  P.  has  never  forgot  it,  and  that  is  the 
reason  he  wanted  me  to  do  it,  and  I  suppose 
that  is  why  he  always  calls  me  Willie.  So 
now  it  is  one  of  my  duties  to  feed  the  doves 
every  day,  and  I  begin  to  like  to  do  it,  because 
it  pleases  him  so  much,  you  know,  • —  though  I 
don't  quite  like  to  feel  myself  occupying  another 
little  boy's  place.  I've  got  over  thinking  the 
old  gentleman  crazy — unless  he's  a  little 
touched  (as  the  housekeeper  says  )  about  the 
boy  whom  he  lost. 

Sometimes  he  speaks  as  if  I  were  that  very 
Willie,  and  again  he  seems  to  think  of  me  as 
what  I  am.  But,  Harry,  I've  found  that  he's 
got  a  real  warm,  kind  heart,  and  I'm  pretty 
sure  I've  got  a  big  place  in  it ;  and  if  I'm  not 


246  MR.  PENDLETON'S  CUP. 

mistaken  he's  getting  less  and  less  crusty  every 
day,  and  more  like  other  people.  Wouldn't  it 
be  a  good  thing  to  do,  if  I  could  help  make 
him  so  ? 

I'm  not  going  to  school  till  Spring,  and  am 
going  to  have  a  long  vacation.  I  believe  it 
would  take  me  a  year  to  look  over  one-half 
of  the  things  which  he  has  got  stored  in  these 
great  rooms.  Oh  !  there  are  such  sights  !  and 
such  wonders !  and  all  covered  thick  with  dust ! 
But  I  spoke  about  it  the  other  day,  and  he 
said  he  would  have  'em  cleaned  up. 

Now,  dear  Harry,  when  are  you  coming  to 
see  me  ?  Your  picture  is  not  enough  to  look 
at,  and  I  want  to  see  you.  But  if  you  can't 
come  till  vacation,  we'll  have  the  old  house 
looking  all  the  better  for  you  !  —  and  he  said — 
(I  mean  Mr.  Pendleton, — it  don't  come  quite 
right  to  call  him  father,  though  I  do  sometimes 
—  it  pleases  him  so)  that  you  were  to  stay  a 
month  or  two.  So  come  prepared.  Now  I 


CONCLUSION.  247 

haven't  said  one-half  that  I  was  going  to,  but 
this  sheet  of  paper  is  giving  out.  But  I  want 
to  tell  you  this:  I'm  so  thankful  every  day 
of  my  life  that  I  didn't  keep  that  cup  and  sell 
it !  What  kept  me  from  it,  —  God  ? 

Now  I  got  all  over  my  home-sickness  long 
ago,  and  am  just  as  happy  and  contented  as 
you  are.  The  bank-note  in  this  letter  I  want 
you  to  give  to  Jumper,  and  tell  him  how  well 
off  I  am.  He  was  drunk  that  day  —  poor 
fellow  —  and  I  can  forgive  him  those  words. 

How  is  the  Captain  ?  The  other  half  of 
what  I  was  to  tell  you  I'll  put  in  my  next. 

Now  don't  forget  to  write  soon  and  long  to 
9  JOE. 

As  Joe  has  neglected  to  add  a  post-script, 
we  will  supply  the  omission  with  this : 

As  week  after  week  went  past,  Mr.  Pendle- 
ton  began  to  lose  the  crustiness  which  had 
grown  nearly  over  his  heart,  and  'the  warm, 


248.  MR.    PENDLETON'S    CUP. 

healthful  influence  which  Joe's  ways  exerted 
upon  him  brought  him  at  length  from  behind 
the  screen  of  reserve  and  coldness  with  which 
he  had  sheltered  himself,  into  the  brightness 
and  sunlight  of  love  and  geniality.  And  as 
with  the  boy's  presence  came  sunlight  and 
cleanliness  and  order  into  the  old  man's  treas- 
ure-house, —  so  into  the  treasure-house  of  his 
heart  came  warmth  and  love  to  brighten  and 
beautify  everything,  and  transform  him  to  a 
genial,  cheerful  old  man,  with  a  heart  younger 
than  his  body.  And  so,  you  see,  the  Cup  was 
the  means  of  bringing  him  that  which  was 
worth  ten  thousand  times  more  than  itself — 
Something  to  love,  ana  something  to  be  loved 
by. 


This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last 
date  stamped  below 


10m-ll, '50(2555)470 


THE  LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
LOS  ANGELES  . 


UC  SOUTHI 


AA    000475248    1 

Bradley  - 


B728m      Mr.   Pendleton's 
, cup. 


PZ6 
B728m 


